DOE Approves Funding for CO2 Capture Technology

Washington, D.C. — A promising post combustion membrane technology that can separate and capture 90 percent of the carbon dioxide (CO2) from a pulverized coal plant has been successfully demonstrated and received Department of Energy (DOE) approval to advance to a larger-scale field test.

In an $18.75 million project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Membrane Technology and Research Inc. (MTR) and its partners tested the Polaris™ membrane system, which uses a CO2-selective polymeric membrane (micro-porous films which act as semi-permanent barriers to separate two different mediums) material and module to capture CO2 from a plant’s flue gas. Post-combustion separation and capture of CO2 is challenging due to the low pressure and diluted concentration of CO2 in the waste stream; trace impurities in the flue gas that affect removal processes; and the amount of energy required for CO2 capture and compression.

Because the Polaris membranes are 10 times more permeable to CO2 than conventional materials (reducing the membrane area required), and use a slipstream of combustion air as a sweep gas, the system has great potential for reduced energy requirements, reasonable capture costs and greater efficiencies for post-combustion capture, all important factors for retrofitting existing coal-based plants.

Demonstrating and further validating this innovative, cost-effective membrane CO2 separation process at the 1 megawatt equivalent (MWe) pilot scale is expected to be a major step toward meeting DOE’s program goals of capturing more than 90 percent of CO2 from flue gas with less than a 35 percent increase in the cost of electricity. Consequently, MTR will now begin fabricating a 1-megawatt (MW) system capable of meeting this goal from a 20-ton-per-day slipstream of coal-fired flue gas.

The 1-MW system will be tested at DOE’s National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) in Wilsonville, Ala., beginning in 2013. The Post-Combustion Carbon Capture Center at the NCCC enables testing and integration of advanced CO2-capture technologies, at scale, using flue gas from Alabama Power’s Gaston power plant Unit 5, an 880-megawatt supercritical pulverized coal unit. Data generated in a 6-month field test of the 1-megawatt system will be used by MTR to develop a preliminary 20-megawatt full-scale commercial design in cooperation with their partners, Vectren and WorleyParsons.　

　

In addition to MTR, other collaborators on the three-year project include the Babcock & Wilcox Company, Electric Power Research Institute, and Southern Company. Objectives of the project, part of DOE’s Clean Coal Research Program portfolio, include reducing the capital cost, footprint, and energy penalty for CO2 capture in conventional coal-fired power plants, compared to existing commercial systems.

Source: NETL

Alberta Bitumen Processing Plant Moves Ahead

Plans for the first world's first oil refinery designed to capture CO2 moved ahead today as the two companies behind the proposed facility reportedly approved $5.7 billion for the first phase of the project. The refinery, to be built near Edmonton, Alberta, will process bitumen from nearby oilsands development, according to a CBC report earlier this month. The goal of the first phase of the project is to upgrade 50,000 barrels of bitumen per day into crude oil. Upon completion of all three phases, the plan is to process 150,000 barrels per day into products including low-sulphur diesel fuel while capturing up to 1.2 million tons of the CO2 produced during the upgrading process. Part of the CO2 would be sold to area oil companies for enhanced oil recovery use, according to the CBC. The two companies working on the new facility are North West Upgrading Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources, both of Calgary. Read more

California Completes Carbon Permit Auction

California officials have announced the results of last week's carbon permit auction, the first of its kind in the state. The entire offering of  23.1 million permits to cover 2013 emissions were purchased for a total of $233 million, with three times as many bidders as buyers. The money will be distributed to residential customers of the state's utilities to offset higher electricity rates anticipated as California shifts to clean energy. The state is expected to link its cap-and-trade program to Quebec’s carbon market in 2013. More

Illinois CO2 Injection Project Update

Washington, D.C. — A project important to demonstrating the commercial viability of carbon capture, utilization and storage technology has completed the first year of injecting carbon dioxide (CO2) from an industrial plant at a large-scale test site in Illinois.

Led by the Illinois State Geological Survey, the Illinois Basin–Decatur Project is the first demonstration-scale project in the United States to use CO2 from an industrial source and inject it into a saline reservoir. The CO2 is being captured from an ethanol production facility operated by the Archer Daniels Midland Company in Decatur, Ill., and is being injected in a compressed "supercritical" state into the Mount Simon Sandstone reservoir some 7,000 feet below the surface. Injection operations were initiated November 17, 2011, with an average injection rate of 1,000 metric tons (1,100 short tons) daily.

Analysis of data collected during the characterization phase of the project indicated the lower Mount Simon formation has the necessary geological characteristics to be a good injection target, a conclusion supported thus far by data accumulated from continuous monitoring of the site. The results from various monitoring activities – including tracking the underground CO2 plume; sensing subsurface disturbances; and continuous scrutiny of groundwater, shallow subsurface, land surface, and atmosphere around the injection site – show the Mount Simon Sandstone reservoir is performing as expected, with very good injectivity, excellent storage capacity, and no significant adverse environmental issues.

Nearing the 1-year mark, 317,000 metric tons of CO2 have been injected, about one third of the planned 1 million metric ton injection volume. The demonstration-scale project provides the opportunity to test how a real-world injection operation will perform where brief interruptions—such as planned maintenance of the compression equipment and conducting of various well tests, as required by regulations—will occur.

Successfully testing and demonstrating CCUS technologies under real-world conditions is an important step toward eventual commercial deployment of the technology as an option in helping mitigate atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions.

The technologies applied and lessons learned from this project will also support industry in the region looking to develop CO2 capture and transport infrastructure, whether it is for carbon storage or enhanced oil recovery in the depleted oilfields in the Illinois Basin.

"FE is proud of the effort and diligence applied to this demonstration project during the past year, as well as during the development period leading up to injection," said Charles McConnell, DOE’s assistant secretary for fossil energy. "The work has been performed safely and with operational discipline to assure flawless performance; the volumes of CO2 injected have been measured, monitored, verified and accounted for; and we remain confident that the injected CO2 has been and will be safely and permanently stored. The Illinois Basin – Decatur Project is an important part of the FE portfolio of demonstrations, through both the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI), that continue to further CCUS and meeting administration long-term goals for greenhouse gas reductions," he said.

The seven regional partnerships in the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships program are investigating the merits of numerous CCUS approaches to determine those best suited for different regions of the country. The Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium (MGSC) is investigating options for the 60,000 square mile Illinois Basin, which underlies most of Illinois, southwestern Indiana, and western Kentucky. Emissions in this area exceed 291 million metric tons of CO2 yearly, mostly attributed to the region’s coal-fired power plants.

The Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) manages the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership program. For more information about the program, please see the NETL website. More information about MGSC and its projects is available on the MGSC website.

Source: NETL

New CO2 Storage Standard Announced

A joint Canada-USA standard for the geologic storage of carbon dioxide was announced last week by two Canadian organizations. The initial research for the project was done by the Saskatchewan-based International Performance Assessment Centre for Geologic Storage of Carbon Dioxide, which collaborated with the Toronto-based CSA Group to produce the final standard. The process included participation from a technical committee of more than 30 professionals representing industry, regulators, researchers and non-governmental organizations from both sides of the border.

The standard, officially known as CSA Z741, is primarily applicable to saline aquifers and depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs and could also be applied to storage associated with enhanced hydrocarbon recovery projects. It includes recommendations for the safer design, construction, operation, maintenance, and closure of storage sites.  Also included are recommendations for the development of management documents, community engagement, risk assessment, and risk communication.

Source: CSA Group press release

OSU Scientists Report New CO2 Capture Membrane

Washington, D.C. — In a project funded by the U.S.Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy (FE), researchers at The Ohio State University have developed a groundbreaking new hybrid membrane that combines the separation performance of inorganic membranes with the cost-effectiveness of polymer membranes. The breakthrough technology has vast commercial potential for use at coal-fired power plants with carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), a key element in national efforts to mitigate climate change.

Before the carbon dioxide (CO2) generated at a power plant can be securely stored or put to beneficial use, it must first be separated from the flue gas stream. Unfortunately, the energy cost of current separation technologies is too high to make rapid commercial deployment of CCUS technologies feasible. To overcome this barrier, high-performance membrane separation is a focus of FE’s Carbon Capture Program, under which the Ohio State project is managed. The program supports the DOE goal of cost-effective deployment of CCUS technologies within 10 years to position the United State as a leader in the global clean energy race.

Membranes consist of thin layers of either polymer (organic, plastic) or inorganic (metal, ceramic) materials that are permeable to the molecules they are meant to capture, such as water, CO2, or oxygen. The layers are generally deposited on a membrane support structure. Polymer membranes are mass produced and very cost effective, while inorganic membranes are expensive to produce but exhibit much better performance.

To illustrate how membranes are more energy efficient than other separation methods, scientists sometimes use a familiar substance: seawater. Pure water can be obtained by boiling the seawater and condensing the salt-free vapor, but boiling requires heat, which means using energy. Alternatively, membrane processes for separating salt from water don’t require heat, making them more cost effective and environmentally friendly. Separating CO2 from flue gas is similar. Energy is still required for pre- and post-separation processes, such as compressing the gas, but for the key process of separating the CO2, new membrane technologies pioneered by FE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and its research partners are designed to eliminate most of the energy costs.

Ohio State’s new hybrid membrane consists of a thin, inorganic "zeolite Y" layer sandwiched between an inorganic intermediate and a polymer cover. These three layers sit atop a polymer support, which in turn rests on a woven backing. According to NETL project manager José Figueroa, "Combining inorganic and organic membrane materials in a hybrid configuration is a breakthrough that could potentially lower costs associated with clean coal technologies."

Ohio State researchers realized a first prototype by combining new nanotechnology characterization and fabrication methods with state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques. In the laboratory, they were able to slash the zeolite Y growth rate from 8 hours to less than 15 minutes and reduce ceramic processing time from 43 hours to 20 minutes, resulting in inorganic/organic membrane development within one hour. They have also achieved adhesion of the inorganic intermediate layer onto a polymer support.

The Ohio State team, which has emphasized the membrane’s broader separation applications in their reports, received funding for the project beginning October 1, 2011, and presented their first results at the NETL Carbon Capture and Storage meeting July 9–12, 2012. The promising results follow previous success the team has had in making continuous, intact inorganic layers on polymer supports and developing new membrane-production techniques.

Source: NETL

Australian Scientists Announce New Capture Method

Australian scientists have devised a carbon capture method that uses the equivalent of a molecular trap door to separate carbon dioxide from other gases. Using a synthesized material called chabazite zeolite the researchers are able to separate molecules based on their properties rather than their size. The material can separate CO2 from gas streams at a wide range of temperatures and pressures and has excellent potential for separating CO2 from power station flue gases and natural gas production, according to the researchers, who add that the high selectivity and lower energy requirement of the capture material provide the potential to reduce the cost of gas separation. Read more