redpoint5 -- Trees dying and rotting on the forest floor are important for non-carbon reasons.
I went back to the Original Post and looked at it again. Coal gasification+fuel cell. I see similarities to biochar production, and recreational vaping.
So what is the solid byproduct?
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Gas works manufacturing syngas also produce coke as an end product, called gas house coke.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coke_(...ther_processes
I wonder if it is as toxic as pet coke.
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Petroleum coke is sometimes a source of fine dust, which can get through the filtering process of the human airway and lodge in the lungs. Once these small dust particles lodge in the lungs they can cause serious health problems.[9]
Petroleum coke can contain vanadium, a toxic metal, in sufficient quantities to poison people. Vanadium was found in the dust, collected in occupied dwelling near the petroleum coke stored next to the Detroit River. Vanadium is toxic in tiny quantities, 0.8 micrograms per cubic meter of air, according to the EPA.[10]
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrol...Health_Hazards
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Anyhoo, Here's an alternative: Replace the steam turbine with a carbon-dioxide turbine.
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/6...-power-a-town/
Quote:
GE Global Research is testing a desk-size turbine that could power a small town of about 10,000 homes. The unit is driven by “supercritical carbon dioxide,” which is in a state that at very high pressure and up to 700 °C exists as neither a liquid nor a gas. After the carbon dioxide passes through the turbine, it's cooled and then repressurized before returning for another pass.
The unit’s compact size and ability to turn on and off rapidly could make it useful in grid storage. It’s about one-tenth the size of a steam turbine of comparable output, and has the potential to be 50 percent efficient at turning heat into electricity. Steam-based systems are typically in the mid-40 percent range; the improvement is achieved because of the better heat-transfer properties and reduced need for compression in a system that uses supercritical carbon dioxide compared to one that uses steam. The GE prototype is 10 megawatts, but the company hopes to scale it to 33 watts.
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Watt?