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Efficient and less polluting coal plants. To approach 50% or more efficiency when converting the thermal energy of coal to electricity the temperature must exce
by fpoling 1y ago
Efficient and less polluting coal plants. To approach 50% or more efficiency when converting the thermal energy of coal to electricity the temperature must exceed 700C, but that brings all kind of problems as it presently requires exotic alloys.
- nine_k 1y agoCoal is problematic due to ash and sulfur. Natural gas-fired plants, OTOH, are not going anywhere for next few decades. And even if they go, and get replaced with nuclear or even fusion, the steam generation step does not go way anyway.
- fpoling 1y agoCoal is cheaper than natural gas and much more evenly distributed on Earth so even small countries can secure supply either from own territory or at least from many other countries. And rising efficiency of a coal plant directly reduces emissions. Then presently coal plants are less flexible with throttling with their output compared with natural gas. The new alloy may level the field and make coal plants to fit better with renewables.