TABLE OF CONTENTS The economics of every major capital investment are individual to the project concerned. Given the broad range of applications and feedstocks, this is especially so for gasification. Furthermore, in a time of rapidly rising costs for all capital plant, it makes little sense to attempt to include up-to-date cost studies in a book of this nature. For such information the reader is referred to recent studies by, for example, EPRI (2007a), US Department of Energy (2007), IEA (2003) and updates, which appear from time to time. Nonetheless, a number of trends can be identified.
Gasification is generally a capital-intensive technology, which has, however, the capability of working with cheaper or more difficult feedstocks than many alternatives.
The capital intensity of gasification is clearly visible in the data presented in Table 9.1 for a 1800 t/d ammonia plant located in Northwest Europe based on different technologies and feedstocks. The capital estimates and feed rates are those of Appl (1999). While costs have risen dramatically since then, the fundamental relationship between capital and operating expenses has remained essentially similar.
| Feedstock | Natural gas | Vacuum residue | Coal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Process | Steam reforming | Gasification | Gasification |
| Feedstock price ($/MMBTU) | 2.8 | 1.8 | 1.5 |
| Total energy consumption (MMBTU/t NH3) | 27.0 | 36.0 | 45.5 |
| LSTK for plant (10 6 $) | 180 | 270 | 400 |
| Total capital* (10 6 $) | 250 | 350 | 500 |
| Feedstock and energy costs ($/t NH 3) | 75.60 | 64.80 | 68.25 |
| Utilities ($/t NH3) | 3.78 | 3.24 | 3.41 |
