HIGH TEMPERATURE CERAMIC FILTER DEVELOPMENT

ADVANCED COAL UTILIZATION AND CONVERSION PROCESSES UNDER DEVELOPMENT BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY REQUIRE CLEANUP OF GAS STREAMS FOLLOWING GASIFICATION OR COMBUSTION OF COAL. FOR EXAMPLE, IT IS DESIRABLE TO REMOVE GASEOUS AND PARTICULATE CONTAMINANTS FROM THESE GAS STREAMS AT HIGH TEMPERATURE AND HIGH PRESSURE PRIOR TO GAS EXPANSION IN TURBINES. WHILE SEVERAL NOVEL FILTRATION DEVICES HAVE BEEN EVALUATED FOR REMOVAL OF PARTICULATES FROM HOT GAS STREAMS, REQUIREMENTS FOR FILTER AREA AND ASSOCIATED PRESSURE VESSELSMAY BE SUBSTANTIAL AND EXPENSIVE FOR COMMERCIAL INSTALLATIONS. A NEW FILTRATION DEVICE BASED ON HIGH AREA, LOW COST HONEYCOMB CERAMIC MONOLITHS COULD SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT THE ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF THESE ADVANCED COAL TECHNOLOGIES. DURING PHASE I, CERAMIC FILTER ELEMENTS BASED ON HONEYCOMB MONOLITHS AND A HIGH TEMPERATURE HOUSING FOR THESE ELEMENTS WILL BE DEVELOPED. PROTOTYPE FILTER DEVICES WILL THEN BE TESTED ON A HOT GAS STREAM FROM A COAL GASIFIER AT THE ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH CENTER LOCATED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA. FILTRATION RATES, FILTER PARTICULATE REMOVAL EFFICIENCY, AND FILTER REGENERATION BY HOT GAS BACKPULSING WILL BE DEMONSTRATED. IN PHASE II, LARGER SCALE TESTS WILL BE CONDUCTED TO ADDRESS THERMAL DEGRADATION, CHEMICAL DEGRADATION, AND LONG TERM OPERATIONAL STABILITY.