Air
Products (NYSE: APD) announced it will play a key role in the world's
first full demonstration of oxyfuel carbon capture and sequestration with the
signing of an agreement with Vattenfall AB, one of Europe's leading energy companies.
Air Products will install its proprietary carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, purification
and compression system at Vattenfall's research and development facility in
Schwarze Pumpe, Germany, which is viewed globally as the preeminent CO2 oxyfuel
project. Air Products will focus specifically on the purification and compression
of oxyfuel combustion flue gas. The two companies also executed a joint research
and development agreement related to the project. Air Products' pilot plant
is to be operational at Schwarze Pumpe in December 2010.
"This is the world's first full demonstration of oxyfuel CO2 capture and
sequestration, and our unique CO2 purification and compression technology will
be validated at pilot scale through this work," said David J. Taylor,
vice president – Energy Businesses at Air Products. "We are honored
to have been chosen by Vattenfall for this project, and we look forward to working
closely with one of the global leaders in CO2 capture solutions."
"It is crucial for Vattenfall to qualify a portfolio of optional technology
use in the coming deployment phase of CCS, carbon capture and storage. Air Products
has been engaged in innovative oxyfuel solutions for many years and we are pleased
to get them on board in our pilot facility," said Göran Lindgren,
CCS R&D manager at Vattenfall.
At the Schwarze Pumpe facility, Air Products will take flue gas directly off
Vattenfall's 30 megawatt (MW) wall-fired boiler at the oxyfuel pilot plant.
It will purify and compress the carbon dioxide, a portion of which will ultimately
be transported for sequestration. Air Products' proprietary sour compression
technology uses a staged compression process to optimize pressure, hold-up,
and residence time to allow removal of impurities during the compression process.
This allows cost savings in the oxyfuel combustion process and minimizes the
concentration of acidic components, important in preventing corrosion during
the CO2 sequestering process. This pilot will demonstrate the efficient purification
of CO2, and remove inert gases, in particular oxygen. In addition, it will incorporate
novel membrane technology, targeting carbon capture rates as high as 98 percent.
Posted April 1st. 2009