Carbon capture energy requirement

The combination of a less-constrained ASU for oxygen production and a carbon capture process using membranes instead of amine solvents can conduce to a minimal energy requirement associated with an oxygen purity ranging between 0.5 and 0.6 molar fraction. 

It would be unrealistic to envision a future without coal use in countries such as the United States. Indeed, U.S. coal consumption is set to rise even if sources of energy are diversified. Clean-coal technologies, such as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), are appealing to governments and lawmakers because they require less adaptation than other mitigating routes. 

The composition and physical condition of flue gases present a challenging environment in which the adsorbents will need to operate. Water and oxygen will always be present in the flue gases, irrespective of the fuel combusted. As their removal prior to the capture process will involve a significant energy penalty, any solid sorbent for carbon capture will have to meet the performance requirements and be stable in the presence of these components. This leads to one key difference between amine solvent systems and solid adsorbent systems where water poses little problem in what is already an aqueous system. 

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