Carbon Capture Research

Before C02 gas can be sequestered from power plants and other point sources, it must be captured as a relatively pure gas. On a mass basis, C02 is the 19th largest commodity chemical in the United States [12], and C02 is routinely separated and captured as a by-product from industrial processes such as synthetic ammonia production, H2 production, and limestone calcination. 

Existing capture technologies, however, are not cost-effective when considered in the context of sequestering C02 from power plants. Most power plants and other large point sources use air-fired combustors, a process that exhausts C02 diluted with nitrogen and excess air. Flue gas from coal-fired power plants contains 10%-12% C02 by volume, while flue gas from natural gas combined cycle plants contains only 3%-6% C02. For effective carbon sequestration, the C02 in these exhaust gases must be separated and concentrated. 

Furthermore, C02 capture is generally estimated to represent 75% of the total cost of a carbon capture, storage, transport, and sequestration system. 

The most likely options currently identifiable for C02 separation and capture include 

Opportunities for significant cost reductions exist since very little R D has been devoted to C02 capture and separation technologies. Several innovative schemes have been proposed that could significantly reduce C02 capture costs, compared to conventional processes. One box concepts that combine C02 capture with the reduction of criteria pollutant emissions are being explored as well. 

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The most promising emerging technologies applied to carbon capture are discussed in this section to complete the overview of the C02 capture technologies currently under research. 

These plants would need to use carbon capture equipment or their estimated carbon emissions could equal the fossil fuel emissions from the past 250 years. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an important research area but widespread commercial use may be years away. 

Shackley, S., McLachlan, C. and Bough, C. (2004). The Public Perceptions of Carbon Capture and Storage. Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, Working Paper 44. www.tyndall.ac.uk/publications/working papers/working papers. shtml wp44. 

Management of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels will require sequestration of carbon dioxide. Research and development into methods to cost effectively capture and geologically sequester carbon dioxide is required in the next 10 to 20 years.5... 

Lima F. V., Daoutidis P., Tsapatsis M., Marano J. J. 2012. Modeling and optimization of membrane reactors for carbon capture in Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle units. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research 51(15) 5480-5489. 

Pires, J.C.M. et al. Recent developments on carbon capture and storage An overview. Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 2011. 89(9) 1446-1460. 

Microporous materials have been proved to have the potential application in gas storage and separation by physical adsorption during last decades [46]. Such application is usually based on the presence of a large permanent surface area, suitable pore size distribution, and suitable enthalpy of adsorption between micropore and gas molecules of porous sorbents. Recent research revealed that microporous materials are considered as potential carbon capture media due to their relatively weak physical interaction with carbon dioxide, which renders the recovery of the gas and recycling of the sorbent less energy... 

Van Selow, E.R., Cobden, P.D., Verbraeken, P.A. et al. (2009b) Carbon capture by sorption enhanced water-gas shift reaction process using hydrotalcite-based material. Industrial Engineering Chemistry Research, 48 (9), 4184 193. 

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