About the only interim prospect for UK energy...but "China Bad" right?

Hat tip/Kathleen Tyson

Eric Yeung 👍🚀🌕
@KingKong9888
2h
🔥 China’s “Clean Coal” Revolution: How Ultra-Low Emission (ULE) Tech Actually Works

Think old-school dirty coal plants belching smoke? Modern Chinese coal power is nothing like that. The “clean process” refers to China’s ultra-low emission (ULE) technology — a full suite of advanced combustion + post-combustion controls that slashes particulate matter (PM/dust), sulfur dioxide (SO₂, and nitrogen oxides (NOₓ to levels equal to or better than natural gas plants on key air pollutants.

Here’s exactly how it works, step by step:

1️⃣ Efficiency boost with Ultra-Supercritical (USC) or supercritical boilers

These run at much higher steam temperatures and pressures (>600°C and >30 MPa) than old subcritical plants. Thermal efficiency jumps to ~42–45% (vs ~33–38% before).
Result: Less coal burned per kWh of electricity → inherently lower emissions of all pollutants, including CO₂.
China dominates here — new large units (≥660 MW) are almost always built this way.

2️⃣ Flue-gas treatment (the scrubbers + filters)

Installed in series along the exhaust path with real-time Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (CEMS):

• NOₓ control: Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) — ammonia/urea injected over a catalyst converts NOₓ into harmless nitrogen and water (80–90%+ removal).
• SO₂ control: Wet flue-gas desulfurization (FGD/scrubbers) — limestone slurry reacts with SO₂ to produce gypsum (a useful byproduct); >98% removal.
• Particulate (PM/dust) control: Advanced electrostatic precipitators (ESP) or fabric bag filters capture >99.9% of fly ash. Often enhanced with low-temp economizers for even better performance.
Combined, these meet (or beat) China’s strict ULE standards:
• PM ≤ 10 mg/m³ (≤5 mg/m³ in key regions)
• SO₂ ≤ 35 mg/m³
• NOₓ ≤ 50 mg/m³
That’s why modern Chinese coal plants can actually outperform natural gas on local air-quality metrics for these pollutants. (CO₂ is still roughly double gas per kWh, though efficiency narrows the gap.)

⭕️How widespread is this?

• Ultra-low emissions (ULE) compliance: Over 96% of coal-fired power units nationwide have achieved it (latest official data from China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, reflecting progress through 2024–2025). Retrofits of the old fleet were largely done by ~2020; all new builds since the mid-2010s include it.

• Ultra-supercritical (USC) boilers: About 32% of operating coal-fired capacity as of early 2024 (but over 90% among plants under construction or newly permitted).

🎯In short: Virtually the entire Chinese coal fleet now runs advanced emission controls (the full ULE “scrubbers + filters” package), with a fast-growing share using the highest-efficiency USC boilers. This is the world’s largest deployment of “clean coal” tech — and the reason China’s coal plants no longer match the outdated high-pollution stereotype for local air quality.

(Climate note: CO₂ remains the bigger long-term challenge, which is exactly why China is also racing ahead on renewables faster than any country in history.)

🔶Sources:

• China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) — “China’s Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change” (2025 report)
• Peer-reviewed studies on ULE performance (e.g., Tang et al. on emission reductions post-2014 standards)
• Industry data via IEA, Carbon Brief & CREA reports on USC adoption & fleet upgrades.

https://nitter.net/KingKong9888/status/2049816735126303220#m