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Title: A NOVEL CO{sub 2} SEPARATION SYSTEM

Abstract

Because of concern over global climate change, new systems are needed that produce electricity from fossil fuels and emit less CO{sub 2}. The fundamental problem with current systems which recover and concentrate CO{sub 2} from flue gases is the need to separate dilute CO{sub 2} and pressurize it to roughly 35 atm for storage or sequestration. This is an energy intensive process that can reduce plant efficiency by 9-37% and double the cost of electricity. There are two fundamental reasons for the current high costs of power consumption, CO{sub 2} removal, and concentration systems: (1) most disposal, storage and sequestering systems require high pressure CO{sub 2} (at roughly 35 atm). Thus, assuming 90% removal of the CO{sub 2} from a typical atmospheric pressure flue gas that contains 10% CO{sub 2}, the CO{sub 2} is essentially being compressed from 0.01 atm to 35 atm (a pressure ratio of 3,500). This is a very energy intensive process. (2) The absorption-based (amine) separation processes that are used to remove the CO{sub 2} from the flue gas and compress it to 1 atm consume approximately 10 times as much energy as the theoretical work of compression because they are heat driven cycles working overmore » a very low temperature difference. Thus, to avoid the problems of current systems, we need a power cycle in which the CO{sub 2} produced by the oxidation of the fuel is not diluted with a large excess of nitrogen, a power cycle which would allow us to eliminate the very inefficient thermally driven absorption/desorption step. In addition, we would want the CO{sub 2} to be naturally available at high pressure (approximately 3 to 6 atmospheres), which would allow us to greatly reduce the compression ratio between generation and storage (from roughly 3,500 to approximately 8).« less

Authors:
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
US Department of Energy (US)
OSTI Identifier:
789050
Report Number(s):
AC26-98FT40421-03
TRN: AH200137%%389
DOE Contract Number:  
AC26-98FT40421
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: 1 May 2000
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY AND ECONOMY; ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE; CLIMATIC CHANGE; COMPRESSION; EFFICIENCY; ELECTRICITY; FLUE GAS; FOSSIL FUELS; GASES; NITROGEN; OXIDATION; REMOVAL; SEPARATION PROCESSES; STORAGE

Citation Formats

Copeland, Robert J. A NOVEL CO{sub 2} SEPARATION SYSTEM. United States: N. p., 2000. Web. doi:10.2172/789050.
Copeland, Robert J. A NOVEL CO{sub 2} SEPARATION SYSTEM. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/789050
Copeland, Robert J. 2000. "A NOVEL CO{sub 2} SEPARATION SYSTEM". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/789050. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/789050.
@article{osti_789050,
title = {A NOVEL CO{sub 2} SEPARATION SYSTEM},
author = {Copeland, Robert J},
abstractNote = {Because of concern over global climate change, new systems are needed that produce electricity from fossil fuels and emit less CO{sub 2}. The fundamental problem with current systems which recover and concentrate CO{sub 2} from flue gases is the need to separate dilute CO{sub 2} and pressurize it to roughly 35 atm for storage or sequestration. This is an energy intensive process that can reduce plant efficiency by 9-37% and double the cost of electricity. There are two fundamental reasons for the current high costs of power consumption, CO{sub 2} removal, and concentration systems: (1) most disposal, storage and sequestering systems require high pressure CO{sub 2} (at roughly 35 atm). Thus, assuming 90% removal of the CO{sub 2} from a typical atmospheric pressure flue gas that contains 10% CO{sub 2}, the CO{sub 2} is essentially being compressed from 0.01 atm to 35 atm (a pressure ratio of 3,500). This is a very energy intensive process. (2) The absorption-based (amine) separation processes that are used to remove the CO{sub 2} from the flue gas and compress it to 1 atm consume approximately 10 times as much energy as the theoretical work of compression because they are heat driven cycles working over a very low temperature difference. Thus, to avoid the problems of current systems, we need a power cycle in which the CO{sub 2} produced by the oxidation of the fuel is not diluted with a large excess of nitrogen, a power cycle which would allow us to eliminate the very inefficient thermally driven absorption/desorption step. In addition, we would want the CO{sub 2} to be naturally available at high pressure (approximately 3 to 6 atmospheres), which would allow us to greatly reduce the compression ratio between generation and storage (from roughly 3,500 to approximately 8).},
doi = {10.2172/789050},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/789050}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2000},
month = {Mon May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2000}
}