Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Capture at

Coal-Fired Power Plants

Presented By
Brian McNamara
bmcnamara@kentlaw.edu
 What is CO2 Capture?
• A process consisting of separating CO2 from
energy-related sources before it enters the
atmosphere
• The current goal is to capture approximately
90% of CO2 emissions from these sources
• CO2 capture is most applicable to large,
centralized sources like power plants
 Reasons to Consider CO2 Capture
• Coal is the largest contributor to global CO2 emissions
from energy use (41%), and its share is projected to
increase
• 50% of the electricity generated in the U.S. is from coal
• In 2006, coal-fired power plants produced
approximately 36% of the total U.S. CO2 emissions
• The U.S. produces about 1.5 billion tons per year of
CO2 from coal-burning power plants
• In the U.S., electricity demand is expected to nearly
double over the next 30 years
• China and India are rapidly expanding their use of coal
for energy generation
Why is the Future Use of Coal Likely to
Increase?
• Coal is cheap
• Coal is abundant
• The United States, Russia, China and India
have immense coal reserves
• The economics and security of supply are
significant incentives for the continuing use of
coal
CO2 Separation Technologies
 CO2 Separation with
Sorbents/Solvents
• Separation occurs when
CO2-containing gas comes
in contact with a
sorbent/solvent that is
capable of capturing the
CO2
• Regeneration of the
sorbent/solvent after being
heated, after pressure
decrease or other change in
condition releases the CO2
• Recycled and make-up
sorbent/solvent is sent back
to capture more CO2
 CO2 Separation with Membranes
• Membranes are
manufactured materials
(polymeric, metallic,
ceramic) that allow the
selective permeation of
CO2 through them
• The selective permeation
of CO2 is usually driven
by a pressure difference
across the membrane
(high pressure is usually
preferred)
 CO2 Separation by Cryogenic
Distillation
• CO2 can be separated
from other gases
through a series of
compression, cooling
and expansion steps
• Once in liquid form, the
components of the gas
can be separated in a
distillation column
CO2 Capture Systems
 Post-Combustion CO2 Capture
Systems
• Defined as the separation of CO2 from the
flue gases produced after burning coal in air
• The CO2 separation and recovery from the
flue gas occur at low concentration and low
partial pressure
• The most common separation method used
are chemical solvents (amines)
Post-Combustion CO2 Capture System:
Chemical Absorption with Amines
• The CO2 is captured from the flue gas stream by
absorption into an amine solution in an
absorption tower
• The absorbed CO2 must then be stripped from
the amine solution via a temperature increase,
regenerating the solution for use again in the
absorption tower
• The recovered CO2 is cooled, dried, and
compressed to a supercritical fluid
• The CO2 is then ready to be piped to storage
Post-Combustion CO2 Capture System:
Chemical Absorption with Amines
 Challenges of Post-Combustion CO2
Capture
• Low pressure and dilute CO2 concentration of the flue
gas requires a high volume of gas to be treated
• CO2 removal from the flue gas requires a lot of energy
• Compression of the captured CO2 requires a lot of
energy
• The low-pressure steam used for the regeneration of
the amine solution reduces steam to the turbine which
reduces the net power output of the generating plant
• For existing plants, the coal input must be increased
and the plant size expanded to maintain constant net
power generation
Pre-Combustion CO2 Capture Systems
• Defined as the separation of coal into CO2 and hydrogen
before combustion
• The capture process involves the following stages:
– First, the coal is processed in a reactor with steam and air or
oxygen to produce a mixture consisting mainly of carbon
monoxide and hydrogen (“synthesis gas”)
– Second, in another reactor (a “shift reactor”) the synthesis gas is
reacted with steam to produce an additional mix of CO2 and
hydrogen
– Third, the resulting mixture of CO2 and hydrogen can then be
separated into separate gas streams
– Fourth, the CO2 can be captured and the hydrogen used as fuel
to generate a gas turbine
• Pre-combustion would be used at power plants that
employ integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC)
technology
Pre-Combustion CO2 Capture System:
Integrated Gasification Combined
Cycle System (IGCC)
• A gasifier transforms the coal to a synthesis gas
• The synthesis gas goes through several stages of
cleanup (shift reactors) where the CO2 can be captured
• A gas turbine burns the cleaned synthesis gas to
produce electricity and exhaust heat
• Exhaust heat from the gas turbine is recovered to
produce steam to power a steam turbine
• The system produces energy through the two turbines
– gas turbine and steam turbine
Pre-Combustion CO2 Capture System:
IGCC with CO2 Capture
 Challenges of Pre-Combustion CO2
Capture for IGCC Plants
• Perception of poor availability and operability
– Current demonstration plants required between 3-5 years
to reach 70 – 80 % availability
• Operating issues
– No single process component is responsible for the
majority of shutdowns
– Operational performance has not typically exceeded 80%
• Cost
– Requires more maintenance than a PC unit
– Spare gasifier ($$) provides better availability
• Maturity
– IGCC system is not mature enough for coal-based electric
generation
 Oxy-Fuel Combustion CO2 Capture
Systems
• The system uses oxygen rather than air for the
combustion of coal
• Combustion produces flue gas that is mainly
water vapor and CO2
• Flue gas has a relatively high CO2 concentration
(greater than 80% by volume)
• CO2 is separated from the water vapor by cooling
and compressing the flue gas
• Flue gas may be further treated to remove air
pollutants and non-condensed gases before the
CO2 is captured
Oxy-Fuel Combustion CO2 Capture
System
 Challenges for Oxy-Fuel Combustion
CO2 Capture
• The technology is only at a development stage
(no commercial experience to rely upon)
• The air-separation unit that supplies the
oxygen consumes a lot of energy and reduces
the plant’s efficiency
Retrofit or Rebuild the Existing U.S.
Coal-Based Generating Plants?
U.S. Coal-Based Generating Plants
• Average age of the fleet is over 35 years old
• There are more than 1,000 boilers in the U.S.
fleet
• Average generating efficiency of the fleet is
about 33%
• Current life-extension capabilities could keep
some units in operation for another 30+ years
• More than 100 new coal-based power plants
are being considered for construction
 Post-Combustion CO2 Capture
Retrofits
• Retrofit refers to installing CO2 capture
systems to existing units
• Retrofit with CO2 capture systems seem
unlikely due to:
– Reductions in unit efficiency and output
– Increased on-site space requirements
– Unit downtime
 Post-Combustion CO2 Capture
Rebuilds
• Rebuild refers to rebuilding the core of an
existing unit by installing higher efficiency
technology along with CO2 capture
• Rebuilds appear more attractive than retrofits
because
– Cost of both are about the same
– Units with rebuilds have higher efficiency
Pre-Combustion CO2 Capture Retrofits
& Rebuilds
• Retrofitting an IGCC unit would appear to be
less expensive than retrofitting a PC unit
• Retrofitting would not make the unit an
optimum CO2 capturing unit
• Rebuilding would involve significant changes
in most components of the unit to optimize
CO2 capture
 Oxy-Fuel Retrofits and Rebuilds
• Good option for retrofitting PC units because
the boiler and steam cycle are less affected
• The major impact is the increased energy
requirement of the air-separation unit
• Rebuilds to improve efficiency appear to be
competitive with post-combustion rebuilds
Retrofit or Rebuild the Existing U.S.
Coal-Based Generating Plants?
Retrofit or Rebuild the Existing U.S.
Coal-Based Generating Plants?
 What will the Application of CO2
Capture Depend on?
• Technical maturity
• Costs
• Diffusion and transfer of the technology to
developing countries and their capacity to
apply the technology
• Regulatory aspects
• Environmental issues
• Public perception