Introduction  Air supported belt conveyor (ASBC) is a material handling device with advantages of steady operation, high efficiency, good environmental protection benefit, which has been used in grain storage, port and chemical industry fields. However, it is rarely used in coal handling system of power plant. The paper aims to inverstigate the application possibility of ASBC in coal handling system of power plant.

  Method  Based on analyzing the operation principle and technical characteristics of ASBC, the economy comparison between ASBC and roller belt conveyor had been investigated.

  Result  The result indicates that the ASBC has lower operation & maintenance cost, better economic performance in whole life cycle, and higher environmental benefits.

  Conclusion  It is worthy to use the ASBC in coal handling system of power plant.