NEWS RELEASE                                   JULY 2009

CO₂ Capture and Sequestration Cost Reduction is Being Achieved

Technologies to capture and sequester CO₂ from coal-fired power plants are available today.  The problem is cost.  Widespread adoption requires substantial cost reduction.  According to the McIlvaine Company in its CO₂ Decisions and in a recorded webinar, much progress is being made and much more is promised.

Building on past experience

There are commercial systems already in place.  In the two and a half hour recorded webinar, Lyle Witham, Environmental Services Manger for Basin Electric Power, discussed his company’s experience with carbon capture and sequestration.  Their Dakota Gasification plant in North Dakota has successfully captured CO₂ using amines for almost a decade, piping three million tons per year for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in Saskatchewan.  They are now planning to capture CO₂ from a 120-MW slipstream from the adjacent Antelope Valley coal-fired power plant using Powerspan’s ammonia-based ECO2 system.  Antelope Valley will obtain ammonia from the gasification plant and send an additional one million tons of CO₂ per year through the existing pipeline for EOR.

Improving the performance of components

If the parasitic power and cost can be reduced through improved component design then much better economics can be achieved.  Pete Baldwin, President of Ramgen Power Systems, told webinar attendees that “shock wave” compressors can be smaller, less costly and more efficient. There are no prototypes currently in operation, but development is well advanced.

New methods for CO₂ separation

The present technologies using amines to separate the CO₂ are costly.  Karen Ratcliff of Siemens says her company is ready for scalable market introduction of two post-combustion technologies.  One uses ammonia acid salts, which have lower degradation rates than other amines.  A demonstration of that technology will begin later this year on a 1-MW slipstream from E.ON’s Staudinger plant in Germany.  The other involves a partnership with Powerspan to expand introduction of their ECO2 aqueous ammonia carbon capture system in Europe.

Practical ways to sequester CO₂ from coal plants

Finding places to permanently store CO₂ is a challenge.  Jim Lepinski, President of Headwater Clean Carbon Services, discussed his company’s partnership with the University of Utah to develop carbon sequestration opportunities.  Headwater is currently conducting four sequestration tests in southwestern states and is looking at developing a regional sequestration site in Utah.  The Utah site is remote, has favorable geologic formations, and is within 25 miles of three coal-fired power plants.

Coordinating development and regulatory policy

Kurt Waltzer of the Clean Air Task Force discussed his organization’s efforts to support carbon capture and sequestration projects.  Scaling up carbon capture will require more R&D to reduce costs, regulatory programs to provide incentives and standards, infrastructure (such as pipelines) and guidelines for long-term care of sequestration sites.

Improvement of the entire combustion process

 There are many opportunities to improve the way coal is combusted.  There is the potential for substantial cost reduction for the combined combustion and capture system.

As a boiler OEM, Doosan Babcock can integrate post-combustion technologies into a complete power station with consideration given to operating factors such as utilizing spare steam.  Matt Hunt discussed the company’s post-combustion offering using a proprietary solvent.  A 3000-hour test will be conducted at Sask Power’s Boundary Dam power plant, focusing on minimizing steam consumption and solvent degradation.   Scott Hume discussed Doosan Babcock’s oxy-fuel research efforts at its test facility in Renfrew, Scotland, and a 40-MW oxy-fuel test facility to be commissioned later this year.

The 2.5 hour video recording access by streaming media through a web link is available for $95. http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/HTH_Recordings_Order_Form.htm.

CO₂ Decisions is available as part of Power Plant Air Quality Decisions which is described at: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/PPKS/Default.htm