The gasification process converts any carbon-containing material into a synthesis gas composed primarily of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which can be used as a fuel to generate electricity or steam or used as a basic chemical building block for a large number of uses in the petrochemical and refining industries. Gasification adds value to low or negative value feedstocks by converting them to marketable fuels and products.

This is the first book to cover gasification as a comprehensive topic, covering its many uses, from refining, to natural gas, to coal. This book provides an up-to-date overview of commercial processes and covers applications relevant to today's demands. The new edition is expanded and provides more detail on the integration issues for current generation, state-of-the-art Integrated Gasification Combined Cycles (IGCC); CO2 capture in the IGCC context addressing the issues of pre-investment and retrofitting as well as defining what the term "CO2 capture ready" might mean in practice; issues of plant reliability, availability and maintainability (RAM) including as evaluation of feedback from existing plants; implementation of fuel cell technology in IGCC concepts. All statistics, processes and projects, including descriptions of a number of processes not covered in the previous edition.

* Addresses the increase awareness of "greenhouse gas" and the role that gasification can play in CO2 capture

* Ideal reference for anyone involved in operating or designing an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycles (IGCC)power plant

* Thoroughly updated to provide more detail on the integration issues for Integrated Gasification Combined Cycles, CO2 capture, plant reliability and implementation of fuel cell technology

"This proposed edition and the previous one provide information on a "hot topic" area, gasification. As our petroleum sources dwindle, it is essential that we seek other raw material sources like tar sand, coal, ignite, etc. to provide our needs. Gasification is an essential process to meet these needs, therefore, this book is at the forefront of this technology."

James R. Couper

University of Arkansas

"The revised edition has a tremendous potential in attracting readers on such an important technology which serves as an alternative to using crude oil or natural gas. Gasification processes are more important with the escalating costs of other sources of energy with environmental issues and other demands by governmental agencies. Fuel cell technology with Integrated gasification combined cycle is very promising and exciting to engineers, scientists and technologists. I fully endorse the revised edition to further inform engineers, scientists, technologist and consultants in the field of gasification. There are simply very few texts on the market on this essential topic. With their immense experience and background, Higman's and van der Burgt's revised text will further enlighten engineers, scientists and technologists on gasification technology."

Kayode Coker

Jubail Industrial College

"THIS IS THE SINGLE BEST REFERENCE FOR AN UP-TO-DATE, COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW OF GASIFICATION TECHNOLOGIES AND THE TECHNOLOGIES ENCOMPASSED IN A COMMERCIAL GASIFICATION PLANT. THIS BOOK IS REQUIRED READING FOR ANYONE WHO HAS A SERIOUS INTEREST IN GASIFICATION AND IGCC."

Jim Falsetti

Process Energys

"This book would have broad appeal in the energy and, perhaps, energy policy sectors. Expect it to be read by Chief Engineer, Design Engineer, Professor and Policy Analyst in that order.

I belive this would be an important book, given the rapid increase in alternative energy technologies."

Dr. Richard Ulrich,

Univ. of Arkansas

Christopher Higman graduated in 1966 from the University of Oxford and received his M.Sc. from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. His first contact with gasification was commissioning a producer gas plant in South Africa in 1968. He jopined Lurgi in 1975 and where he spent the next 27 years, mostly involved with gasification and related technologies. He has been responsible for design, project management and start up of a number of ammonia and methanol plants based on the gasification of heavy residues. Other projects for which he was responsible include the gas production units at both the Bintulu and Mossel Bay gas-to-liquids plants and the IGCC/hydrogen production facility at Shells Pernis, Netherlands refinery. Before taking up a corporate management position in 1997, he was Head of Gas Technology at Lurgi & lGasChemie GmbH.

He is the author of various papers on gasification technology and is a contributor to 'Ullmanns Encyclopaedia of Industrial Chemistry'. He has also been a visiting lecturer at the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies in Oxford. He has a number of patents in the field.

At present Mr. Higman is researching into aspects of soot management in heavy oil gasification plants at the Engler-Bunte-Institute at the University of Karlsruhe.Maarten J. van der Burgt got his M.Sc. degree in 1959 from the Delft University in the Netherlands. He has spent over 30 years with Shell, mostly involved with hydro-processes, gasification, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and biomass conversion. He has been responsible for the design of both the 250MW Demkolec Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle plant in Buggenum, the Netherlands and for the Bintulu gas-to-liquids plant in Malaysia. After leaving Shell he became an independent consultant, which work he has been doing for the past 9 years. As a consultant he has worked with most of the major gasification developers and has given seminars at Princeton University.

Over the years he has published widely on all subjects he has worked on resulting in about 140 publications, half of them being patents. He has been an editor of the coal science journal 'Fuel' and in 1993 was awarded the 'Dow Chemical Energy Prize'.

Preface

Introduction

The Thermodynamics of Gasification

The Kinetics of Gasification and Reactor Theory

Feedstocks and Feedstock Characteristics

Gasification Processes

Practical Issues

Applications

Auxiliary Technologies

Economics, environmental, and Safety Issues

Gasification and the Future

Appendix A Companion Website

Appendix B Conversion Factors

Appendix C Emissions Conversion Factors

Appendix D Guidelines for Reporting Operating Statistics for Gasification Facilities

Appendix E Basis for Calculations

Nomenclature

List of Names and Abbreviations

Index