Sahiwal coal-fired power plant has achieved zero carbon emission: CHNG

BEIJING: China’s coal-fired power plants in Pakistan made it possible to achieve ultra-low, even zero carbon emission, says a report carried by Gwadar Pro on Friday.

The issues of climate change partly caused by carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants has aroused wide concern of the international community, including Pakistan and China in recent years.

However, according to the report, China Huaneng Group Co., Ltd, (CHNG) indicated in an exclusive interview, that considering their project in Pakistan, Sahiwal power station, and their new achievement in China, coal-fired power plants have also been made it possible to achieve ultra-low, even zero carbon emission.

Last week, the 6th International Forum on Carbon Capture, Uses and Sequestration was held by CHNG and supervised by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of China in Beijing.

At the event, scholar institutions and energy enterprises from China, Australia, America, UK, discussed and reported the latest academic achievements and applications of carbon capture, utilization and storage.

Jia YuanPei, spokesman of CHNG told Gwadar Pro after the forum that their IGCC coal-fired power project in Tianjin has implemented zero carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

“Though IGCC is a demonstration project, it proves to us that zero carbon emission is possible. We’re working on its replicability and generalizability so that our other coal-fired power stations such as Sahiwal project are accessible to zero carbon emission,” he said.

Tianjin IGCC Power Station was put into operation in November 2012. With an installed capacity of 265,000 kilowatts, it is currently the most environment-friendly coal-fired power station adopting a two-stage pressurized dry coal gasifier and a batch of most advanced technologies.

Through the devices and technologies, the waste gas produced by burning coal is filtered and purified into high-purity carbon dioxide, which is then captured and stored as industrial raw material.

“Now, Sahiwal project has joined the ranks of green coal-fired power projects with its high efficiency and carbon emission which have surpassed the world standards.

Once IGCC and related technologies are mature, they’ll be used in Sahiwal and other coal-fired projects in Pakistan. By then, the amount of carbon dioxide exhausted into the atmosphere by coal-fired power stations will have been effectively reduced. It will not only provide Pakistan with CO2 feedstock for industrial use, but will also make a significant contribution to the nation’s efforts on coping with climate change,” Jia said.