Coal gasifiers: commercial and technical risk

At present, only two gasifier designs (Koppers-Totzek and Lurgi) are offered on the basis of the offerer having recent commercial experience with the design. Development and demonstration programs will soon add five new concepts to the list of offerings that lie within the realm of reasonable commercial risk. These include the Allis-Chalmers, British slagging Lurgi, Saarberg-Otto, Texaco, and Westinghouse gasifiers. The actual date these units will become commercial depends on when the developers actually get their demonstration unit on line and operating. Other developers may assume a greater portion of the commercial risk in order to accelerate the introduction of their process into a commercial setting.