Gasification
Over the past decade, Southern Company, with the Department of Energy, has been developing cleaner, less expensive, more reliable methods for power production from coal. The Power Systems Development Facility near Wilsonville, Alabama, has developed promising gasification technologies with near-term practical applications.
Southern Company, in conjunction with our partner KBR, has further developed the gasification process to work even more efficiently for sub-bituminous and other low-rank coals. Low-rank coals have less energy per pound but account for half of worldwide reserves. This gasification process, developed at the Power Systems Development Facility, is called Transport Integrated Gasification (TRIGTM).
TRIG is adapted from a proven technology used to refine oil and turns low-rank coal into a viable fuel for modern gas turbine power generators. The process uses air-blown gasification rather than the more commonly used oxygen-blown approach, which reduces the cost of power production.
