Inventing The

The Transport Integrated Gasification (TRIG™) process is designed to provide a clean, efficient and reliable method for using low-cost, low-rank coal — an abundant fuel resource — in electric power generation. Specifically, TRIG™ converts coal into a clean-burning gas that can fuel integrated gasification combined-cycle power plants, which are designed to be more efficient and cleaner than traditional coalfired plants. In addition, TRIG™ incorporates process enhancements that can increase affordability. For instance, in some markets, carbon captured in conjunction with the TRIG™ process can be sold for use in enhanced oil recovery, which can significantly offset the cost of fuel. In markets where the cost of natural gas is high or supply is constrained, TRIG™ offers the energy security of using an indigenous coal resource that often goes unused.
TRIG™ has been developed over the last two decades at the Power Systems Development Facility — now the National Carbon Capture Center — in Alabama, which is a focal point of the U.S. Department of Energy’s efforts to expand technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and natural gas-based power generation. The nation’s first commercial-scale deployment of TRIG™ is under development at the Kemper County energy facility in Mississippi.
During the gasification process, coal is fed into the gasifier and heated to a high temperature and high pressure. The combination of heat and pressure turns the coal into gas, facilitating removal of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide and creating a clean-burning gas fuel. Specifically, TRIG™ improves upon the traditional gasification process by using air, rather than pure oxygen, to gasify the coal and by allowing a high rate of coal-to-gas conversion.
Business Roundtable members are creating technologies that actively contribute to a more efficient, secure and sustainable future for their customers and the public at large.
In Inventing the Future: How Technology Is Reshaping the Energy and Environmental Landscape Business Roundtable highlights just a small sample of technologies that are actively contributing to a more efficient, secure and sustainable future.
Business Roundtable is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies working to promote a thriving economy and expanded opportunity for all Americans through sound public policy.