IGCC facilities are more like chemical plants than power plants. The reason for this is that IGCC plants produce many useful byproducts in addition to electricity. The main byproducts of IGCC include:
- Hydrogen: This gas (H2) can be burned cleanly in a combustion turbine or stored and shipped for other purposes, namely oil refining and hydrogen fuel cells.
- Carbon Dioxide: CO2 can be used to recover deep pockets of oil (Enhanced Oil Recovery, or EOR). Work is currently underway to find the best way to store, or sequester carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
- Ash: This substance is collected at the bottom of a gasifier early in the IGCC process. Ash, or slag, can be used as filler in concrete instead of gravel.
- Sulfur: Sulfur can be isolated down to its elemental state before it has a chance to form the harmful greenhouse gas SO2. Sulfur has many industrial uses, including detergent and cellophane. Sulfuric acid has uses for wastewater treatment and fertilizers.
