In a study published recently in Angewandte Chemie, Australian scientists from Monash University and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation report the discovery of a photosensitive metal organic framework (MOF) – a class of materials known for its exceptional capacity to store gases. The authors say this has created a powerful and cost-effective new tool to capture and store, or potentially recycle, carbon dioxide. By using sunlight to release the stored carbon, the new material reportedly overcomes the problems of expense and inefficiency associated with current, energy-intensive methods of carbon capture. Current technologies use liquid capture materials that are then heated in a prolonged process to release the carbon dioxide for storage. Read more Read more
Monday, February 18, 2013
Australian Scientists Report New CCS Technology
Sunday, February 10, 2013
New Natural Gas Power Plants to Use CO2 Capture
Summit Power Group, a Seattle-based developer of low-carbon power projects, and the technology company The Linde Group have announced they have teamed up to develop commercial-scale natural gas fired power plants that will capture up to ninety percent (90%) of the carbon dioxide (CO2) that would otherwise have been emitted. According to a Summit press release, the new power plants will combine well-established and commercially proven natural gas-fired power plant technology with proven carbon capture technology.
Both Summit and Linde are already active in developing power projects with CO2 capture where the CO2 can be either geologically sequestered in depleted gas fields and deep saline formations, or injected into depleting oilfields. Summit is currently developing two major coal gasification projects that will capture 90% of the CO2 they produce, namely the Texas Clean Energy Project (TCEP) in the United States and the Captain Clean Energy Project (CCEP) in the United Kingdom. Linde is a major technology provider, engineering and construction contractor, and long-term operations and maintenance provider to TCEP.
Summit and Linde have identified several suitable U.S. locations for this new type of power plant. Key locations are those where the ultra-low carbon electric power can be sold to utilities and large consumers, and suitable geological sequestration sites are available for the injection of CO2 underground. The companies believe revenue earned from the productive use of captured CO2, for example in oilfields, will reduce and in some cases may eliminate any environmental cost premium that CO2 capture imposes on power plants.
The two companies plan to announce their first such project in the coming months.
Source: Summit Power Group
Both Summit and Linde are already active in developing power projects with CO2 capture where the CO2 can be either geologically sequestered in depleted gas fields and deep saline formations, or injected into depleting oilfields. Summit is currently developing two major coal gasification projects that will capture 90% of the CO2 they produce, namely the Texas Clean Energy Project (TCEP) in the United States and the Captain Clean Energy Project (CCEP) in the United Kingdom. Linde is a major technology provider, engineering and construction contractor, and long-term operations and maintenance provider to TCEP.
Summit and Linde have identified several suitable U.S. locations for this new type of power plant. Key locations are those where the ultra-low carbon electric power can be sold to utilities and large consumers, and suitable geological sequestration sites are available for the injection of CO2 underground. The companies believe revenue earned from the productive use of captured CO2, for example in oilfields, will reduce and in some cases may eliminate any environmental cost premium that CO2 capture imposes on power plants.
The two companies plan to announce their first such project in the coming months.
Source: Summit Power Group
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
More Woe for Coal?
According to an article in today's Wall Street Journal, President Obama is expected to announce a plan to curb emissions from existing power plants when he delivers the State of the Union address next week. The president, the article stated, is likely to urge the addition of existing coal-fired plants to the proposed Environmental Protection Agency rules on greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants. In spring 2012, the EPA proposed strict emissions limits for new power plants of 1,000 pounds of CO2 per megawatt hour of electricity, which, according to the WSJ, would make the construction of new coal-fired plants cost-prohibitive. The rule for new plants is set to be completed later this year, but the agency reportedly has made little progress on new policies for existing plants. Read more
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
EPA Releases Emissions Data
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has posted the second year of greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions data on its website, which provides public access to emissions data by sector, by greenhouse gas, and by geographic region such as county or state.
For facilities that are direct emitters of GHGs the data show that in 2011:
• Power plants remain the largest stationary source of GHG emissions, with 2,221 million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (mmtCO2e), roughly one-third of total U.S. emissions. 2011 emissions from this source were approximately 4.6 percent below 2010 emissions, reflecting an ongoing increase in power generation from natural gas and renewable sources.
• Petroleum and natural gas systems were the second largest sector, with emissions of 225 mmtCO2e in 2011, the first year of reporting for this group.
• Refineries were the third-largest emitting source, with 182 mmtCO2e, a half of a percent increase over 2010.
EPA now has two years of greenhouse gas data for 29 source categories. Some industrial sectors, such as metals production and chemicals production, reported overall increases in emissions, while others, such as power plants, reported decreases. Overall emissions reported from these 29 sources were 3 percent lower in 2011 than in 2010. In the future the data collected through the program will provide the public with the opportunity to compare emissions and developing trends for all 41 industry types –by facility and sector.
This data is accessible through the Facility Level Information on Green House gases Tool (FLIGHT) – a web-based data publication tool. EPA has also expanded accessibility of this data through EPA’s online database EnviroFacts that allows a user to search for information by zip code.
The data collection program is required by Congress in the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which requires facilities to report data from large emission sources across a range of industry sectors, as well as suppliers of certain greenhouse gases, and products that would emit GHGs if released or combusted. EPA’s GHG Reporting Program includes information from more than 8,000 sources and represents 85-90 percent of total U.S. GHG emissions. This data only includes large facilities and does not include small sources, agriculture, or land use, which can also be significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
Source: EPA
For facilities that are direct emitters of GHGs the data show that in 2011:
• Power plants remain the largest stationary source of GHG emissions, with 2,221 million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (mmtCO2e), roughly one-third of total U.S. emissions. 2011 emissions from this source were approximately 4.6 percent below 2010 emissions, reflecting an ongoing increase in power generation from natural gas and renewable sources.
• Petroleum and natural gas systems were the second largest sector, with emissions of 225 mmtCO2e in 2011, the first year of reporting for this group.
• Refineries were the third-largest emitting source, with 182 mmtCO2e, a half of a percent increase over 2010.
EPA now has two years of greenhouse gas data for 29 source categories. Some industrial sectors, such as metals production and chemicals production, reported overall increases in emissions, while others, such as power plants, reported decreases. Overall emissions reported from these 29 sources were 3 percent lower in 2011 than in 2010. In the future the data collected through the program will provide the public with the opportunity to compare emissions and developing trends for all 41 industry types –by facility and sector.
This data is accessible through the Facility Level Information on Green House gases Tool (FLIGHT) – a web-based data publication tool. EPA has also expanded accessibility of this data through EPA’s online database EnviroFacts that allows a user to search for information by zip code.
The data collection program is required by Congress in the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which requires facilities to report data from large emission sources across a range of industry sectors, as well as suppliers of certain greenhouse gases, and products that would emit GHGs if released or combusted. EPA’s GHG Reporting Program includes information from more than 8,000 sources and represents 85-90 percent of total U.S. GHG emissions. This data only includes large facilities and does not include small sources, agriculture, or land use, which can also be significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
Source: EPA
FutureGen Moves Forward in Illinois
WASHINGTON – Following the successful completion of the first phase, the Energy Department today announced the beginning of Phase II of project development with a new cooperative agreement between the FutureGen Industrial Alliance and the Department of Energy for an innovative carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Illinois.
In cooperation with the FutureGen project partners, the Department of Energy is investing in the upgrade of a coal-fired power plant in Meredosia, Ill. with oxy-combustion technology to capture more than 1 million tons of CO2 each year—more than 90 percent of the plant’s carbon emissions. Other emissions will also be reduced to near-zero levels. Instead of capturing CO2 in the presence of a large amount of nitrogen, the oxy-combustion approach extracts the oxygen from air before combustion, greatly reducing the cost of carbon capture at the exhaust stack. This project will test oxygen separation technology and exhaust processing technology after combustion at power plant scales. Using proven pipeline technology, the CO2 will then be safely transported and securely stored underground at a nearby storage site. This groundbreaking project will help pave the way for other cleaner and more sustainable advanced coal-burning power plants.
The completion of the FutureGen 2.0 project’s first phase included important technical and financial milestones like the identification of a sequestration site in Morgan County, preliminary characterization and test drilling, and a commitment from the Illinois Commerce Commission to cover the FutureGen 2.0 project’s output under its power purchasing plans. The cooperative agreement announced today with the FutureGen Industrial Alliance will build on these successes to begin preliminary design, pre-construction and engineering for the retrofitted, near-zero emission coal-fired power plant.
Source: DOE
In cooperation with the FutureGen project partners, the Department of Energy is investing in the upgrade of a coal-fired power plant in Meredosia, Ill. with oxy-combustion technology to capture more than 1 million tons of CO2 each year—more than 90 percent of the plant’s carbon emissions. Other emissions will also be reduced to near-zero levels. Instead of capturing CO2 in the presence of a large amount of nitrogen, the oxy-combustion approach extracts the oxygen from air before combustion, greatly reducing the cost of carbon capture at the exhaust stack. This project will test oxygen separation technology and exhaust processing technology after combustion at power plant scales. Using proven pipeline technology, the CO2 will then be safely transported and securely stored underground at a nearby storage site. This groundbreaking project will help pave the way for other cleaner and more sustainable advanced coal-burning power plants.
The completion of the FutureGen 2.0 project’s first phase included important technical and financial milestones like the identification of a sequestration site in Morgan County, preliminary characterization and test drilling, and a commitment from the Illinois Commerce Commission to cover the FutureGen 2.0 project’s output under its power purchasing plans. The cooperative agreement announced today with the FutureGen Industrial Alliance will build on these successes to begin preliminary design, pre-construction and engineering for the retrofitted, near-zero emission coal-fired power plant.
Source: DOE
Saturday, February 2, 2013
IEA Launches Mobile Energy Stats App
The latest digital version of Key World Energy Statistics from the International Energy Agency (IEA) is now available free for use on an iPhone or iPad, allowing quick and easy electronic access to key energy data – country by country and from production to consumption – for every major form of energy plus greenhouse gas emissions, all in the most recognised and accepted international measurements.
This one-of-a-kind app provides policy makers, business people, students and journalists with the critical data available in the 2012 print edition, from annual Canadian coal production to Thai per capita electricity consumption. But beyond offering that wealth of information on the go and in the palm of your hand, the app’s Favorites function is customisable to allow personalised, fast access to your most relevant and frequently consulted energy topics.
The 2013 app also lets users use multiple indicators and then rank countries by ascending and descending order for those data. Other updates include a new search feature and the ability to personalise tables by country and data.
Source: IEA
This one-of-a-kind app provides policy makers, business people, students and journalists with the critical data available in the 2012 print edition, from annual Canadian coal production to Thai per capita electricity consumption. But beyond offering that wealth of information on the go and in the palm of your hand, the app’s Favorites function is customisable to allow personalised, fast access to your most relevant and frequently consulted energy topics.
The 2013 app also lets users use multiple indicators and then rank countries by ascending and descending order for those data. Other updates include a new search feature and the ability to personalise tables by country and data.
Source: IEA
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)