Rapid Deployment of Rich Catalytic Combustion
DE-FC26-03NT41890

In September of 2003, the National Energy Technology Laboratory entered into a cooperative agreement with Pratt & Whitney to conduct research and development of rich catalytic combustion technology for rapid deployment in industrial gas turbines.  The resulting combustion systems will provide fuel flexibility for gas turbines to burn coal derived synthesis gas or natural gas and achieve cost effective, ultra-low NOx emissions, without exhaust stack cleanup.

This project supports the Department of Energy’s Vision 21 program to offer a new class of fossil fueled power generation technology in the 2015 to 2020 time frame. Vision 21 power systems will be fuel flexible, operating on either coal or natural gas and capable of achieving high efficiencies with near zero emissions. This will signify a major step towards environmentally friendly power generation and coal-based energy independence.

In the near term, as reliance on natural gas increases and prices escalate, opportunities will arise to reinvest in the use of coal, our most abundant fossil fuel resource.  Estimates suggest that over 30,000 megawatts of new coal based power generation will be installed over the next 17 years.  Much of this added capacity could be based on integrated gasification combined cycle technology as well as advanced combustion systems researched in this project.