The diagram illustrates the way in which coal is utilized to generate electricity.
Overall, there are six stages in this man-made, linear process, commencing with adding coal and oxygen into the furnace and culminating in generating electrical power. What is noticeable is that the production process can be divided into three broad steps: gasification in a furnace, purification, and electricity generation via turbines.
Looking at the process in more detail, at the outset, raw materials, particularly coal and oxygen, are put into a large furnace, resulting in the creation of raw syngas, while a byproduct called slag is expelled from the bottom of the furnace. Following this, the gas is subsequently channeled into a purification chamber where specific impurities, namely carbon dioxide, mercury, and sulfur, are removed before the extraction of these elements, allowing it to be transferred downstream to the gas turbine.
In the next stage of the process, the purified syngas is transported into a gas turbine. Before the exhaust gases are sent into a heat recovery steam generator, this turbine powers a generator so that an initial supply of electricity can be produced. Once the exhaust gases enter the steam generator, flue gases are released, and steam is used in order to power. Not until this resulting steam powers the final turbine is the ultimate output of electricity transmitted to the grid.