Alstom, EPRI, We Energies Launch Pilot Project to Capture CO2

March 5, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS

Tools for Engineers IHS sells standards collections and regulatory information for the oil & gas, petrochemical and utilities industries. For more information and a price quote, please complete the form below. API Collections ASME BPVC ASTM Collections CyberRegs - Compliance library IHS Standards Expert - Standards DB IEEE Collections NEMA Collections AWS D1.1 Welding Code First Name: Last Name: Email address:

The first pilot project that uses chilled ammonia to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from coal-fueled power plants is expected to begin operations the first week of March, according to Alstom, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and We Energies.

Alstom designed, constructed and will operate the 1.7-megawatt (MW) system that captures CO2 from a portion of coal-fired boiler flue gas at the We Energies Pleasant Prairie Power Plant, a 1,210-MW coal-fired generating station.

The Alstom process uses chilled ammonia to capture CO2 and isolates it in a highly concentrated, high-pressure form. In laboratory testing, it has demonstrated the potential to capture more than 90% of CO2 at a cost that is far less than other carbon capture technologies, said EPRI.

Once captured, the CO2 can be used commercially or sequestered in suitable underground geologic sites.

The demonstration project will provide the opportunity to test the process on a larger scale and to evaluate its potential to remove CO2 while reducing the energy used in the process.

EPRI will conduct an engineering and environmental performance and cost analysis during the project, which will last at least one year. Through the EPRI collaborative research and development program, more than 30 organizations representing a large portion of the coal-fueled utilities in the U.S. have committed to this project.

EPRI will conduct an extensive evaluation of the system's performance and support the development of technological and economic analyses associated with applying the carbon-capture process on a commercial scale, primarily to larger coal-fueled power plants.

Gale Klappa, chairman, president and CEO of We Energies, called the pilot project a "critical step" in the R&D of this process. "Developing cost-effective carbon capture technology is one of the most important environmental challenges facing the utility industry in the 21st century," said Klappa, "and it's important that we take steps now to achieve a long-term technology solution."

Source: Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).