Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is Gasification?

Gasification is a commercially proven manufacturing process that converts carbonaceous materials such as coal into a synthesis gas (syngas). This gas can then be used as fuel (e.g. for power generation) or further processed to produce other outputs such as fertilizers and liquid fuels. Gasification is a method for extracting energy from organic material and is an efficient technology that can produce high value products from low-value feedstock such as coal.

What is In-Situ Coal Gasification (ISCG)?

ISCG is gasification of coal deep underground in its original coal seam. The ISCG process uses injection and production wells drilled from the surface to access the coal seam and facilitate the process in-situ. The coal is not extracted to the surface as there is no coal mine or coal handling facilities with ISCG. Through a high pressure gasification process, the coal is efficiently converted in-place in its original seam into syngas. The syngas is flowed to the surface and is then processed in a conventional gas plant to produce fuel for electrical power generation or used to produce other products.

What does in-situ mean?

In-situ means "in place", and refers to recovery techniques at the location of the energy source (e.g. coal stays in place).

What is syngas?

ISCG syngas is comprised of primarily hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. Syngas can be combusted to produce electric power or used to produce a variety of other chemicals and fuels. The syngas produced by in-situ coal gasification produces a high-purity CO₂ byproduct, which is efficiently removed from the syngas.

What are the distinct attributes of Gasification?

• A clean, flexible, and reliable way of turning fossil fuels into clean energy.
• Ability to convert low-value feedstock (coal) into high-value products.
• Provides a cost effective way to capture CO₂.
• Gasification enables use of domestic natural resources that would otherwise not be economically viable.
• Provides economic benefits with respect to investment and job creation.
• Gasification is enabling redefinition of "clean energy."

What are the Benefits of Gasification?

Gasification for electricity production provides environmental and cost benefits compared to traditional combustion technologies including:

1. Syngas is cleaned before combustion which reduces air pollutants to the atmosphere.
2. Gasification enables the use of low-value feedstock (i.e., e.g. deep stranded coal) to produce energy.
3. Water Usage – Gasification plants use less water than coal combustion plants; the Swan Hills ISCG/Sagitawah Power Project will use deep source non-fresh water in the gasification process.
4. CO₂ can be cost-effectively captured from the gasification process.

What are the economic benefits of Gasification?

1. Gasification can compete effectively in high-cost energy environments.
2. Gasification converts abundant low-value feedstocks into high-value products.
3. Opportunity to produce a number of high-value products at the same time (i.e., polygeneration).
4. Gasification is among the most cost-effective means to integrate CO₂ capture into fossil fuel use.

What are the environmental benefits of Gasification?

Gasification-based systems offer significant environmental advantages over competing technologies, particularly coal-to-electricity combustion systems:

1. Reduced air emissions – Significant air emission reductions achieved through gasification with CO₂ capture, at reduced cost compared to other post-combustion capture alternatives.
2. Water usage – Swan Hills Synfuels ISCG uses virtually no fresh water in the gasification process but instead uses non-fresh water such as saline water.
3. Ability to sequester carbon dioxide (CO₂) – In a gasification system, CO₂ can be cost-effectively captured and sequestered using commercially available technologies before it would otherwise be vented to the atmosphere.
4. Ability to Use Coal Gasification for Clean Power Generation - low- carbon content ISCG syngas can fuel combined cycle power generation, leading to air emissions levels much lower than those of conventional coal-fired power or even natural gas-fired combined cycle generation.

What makes the Swan Hills Synfuels project unique?

The Swan Hills ISCG/Sagitawah Power Project represents a unique combination of very deep, high efficiency ISCG, CO₂ capture and storage with nearby CO₂ EOR customers, and combined cycle power generation that will to result in a cost-effective clean electricity generation system.

What is the difference between the Swan Hills ISCG/Sagitawah Power Project and Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC)?

With the Swan Hills ISCG/Sagitawah Power Project, coal is gasified in-situ, eliminating the need for a costly coal mine and coal handling. Also, with ISCG-power systems, a high degree of integration is not required between the ISCG and power generation components, allowing each to be sited optimally for their own benefit. ISCG – power systems are much simpler and substantially less expensive to build and operate, and are more environmentally favorable than and IGCC system with similar outputs.

In IGCC, coal must be mined, transported, stored, and prepared before being fed into a costly surface gasification infrastructure. Unlike ISCG, which utilizes non-fresh water, IGCC plants require fresh water in their gasification process. IGCC plants also require a high degree of expensive integration between the gasification and power generation components, resulting in the need to co-locate these components.

What is the compelling advantage of Coal Gasification and CO₂ Capture at the Swan Hills ISCG Facility?

The deep coal resource secured for the Swan Hills ISCG process is ideally suited for efficient ISCG development and represents a secure, low-cost feedstock resource.

The ISCG process is a low-cost form of gasification to produce syngas for power generation fuel low in carbon content, while efficiently capturing CO₂ for byproduct sales. The environmental attributes of the ISCG process are excellent.

The ISCG facility is located amidst numerous existing oil fields suitable for CO₂-based EOR, providing ready market for the CO₂ recovered in the ISCG facility. With over 4 billion barrels of original oil in place and miscible flooding tertiary recovery already proven on these reservoirs, an ample long-term market is available for the CO₂ produced by the ISCG process.

Power generation plants cannot store electricity – is the ISCG process different?

While the Sagitawah power generation facility is a conventional power generator and cannot store electricity, the ISCG process may create some syngas storage capacity in-situ, which can improve the overall system reliability and possibly facilitate syngas storage for peaking power applications.