CO2 removal from coal-fired power plant flue gas - 1616
- *Abstract
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Overview
At present, the energy sector is responsible for about 75% of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. As demands forelectricity increase across the country, CO2 emissions from powerplants will become an even greater driving force in rising atmospherictemperatures. An effective method for capturing and storing carbon dioxidecould slow down climate change and also allow fossil fuels to be a bridge to aclean, renewable energy future. UK researchers are developing a method forremoving the CO2 from coal-fired power plant gas to address thisissue.
Invention
Researchers at the University of Kentucky are developing amethod for removing and capturing carbon dioxide from a fluid stream. The fluidstream is exposed to an aqueous scrubbing solution, which removes and holdscarbon dioxide. A membrane is used to separate the excess water and thescrubbing solution, after which the solution is heated to release carbondioxide prior to being recycled. This process would be extremely beneficial forpower plants looking to minimize their carbon footprints without drasticallyincreasing the costs of electricity production.
Advantages
- lower energy requirements than current alternatives
- increased solution reactivitythrough use of a chemical additive which reduces NH3 losses by 80%
- decrease in energy penaltycompared to amine-based processes
IP Status: U.S. Patent No. 8,328,911
- Country/Region
- USA
