Mitsubishi Heavy completes coal gasification power plant in Japan

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has completed construction of an integrated coal gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant in the town of Hirono in Fukushima Prefecture, it said on November 24.

The new plant has been handed over to Hirono IGCC Power GK and operations began on November 19. The facility is the second IGCC plant of such large scale in commercial use, following the installation constructed for Nakoso IGCC Power GK that went into operation in Fukushima Prefecture’s Iwaki City this past April, MHI said.

Mitsubishi Power manufactured the core air-blown IGCC system, including the coal gasification furnace; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering was in charge of the gas refining equipment; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation oversaw production of generators and electrical equipment and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Power Environmental Solutions was responsible for the wastewater treatment equipment.

The Hirono IGCC plant adopts a gas turbine combined cycle system integrating gas and steam turbines. Coal is gasified in a gasification furnace at high temperature under high pressure; sulfur, ash and the like are separated out and removed; and the refined gas is used as fuel to drive the gas turbine. Combusted waste gas is fed to a waste heat recovery boiler, and the generated steam is used to operate the steam turbine.