Projects Profile
Project Title
Feasibility study of Developing Innovative Carbon Dioxide Capture Technologies
Partnership
Dr Chenggong Sun, Prof. Colin Snape and Dr Trevor Drage, University of Nottingham
Prof. Kaxi Li, Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Project Aim
This joint development project is to develop and demonstrate at sub-pilot scale an innovative solid adsorbent technology.
The results already obtained from a recent ICUK partnership project, as highlighted in the independent techno-economic and market report, have resulted in superior materials with reversible CO2 capture capacities of up 3 times that of leading sorbents. The costs of these materials are comparable or lower than existing technologies – most of which are not commercially available.
Using the unique production technology expertise of the Chinese partners combined with the extensive sorbent development know-how of the UK partner this further collaboration takes the outcomes of the partnership grant to forwards towards demonstration at a sub-pilot scale, with the ultimate goal of commercial implementation in operational power plants.
Inspiration for the projects
Cutting climate-forcing carbon (dioxide) emissions resulting from soaring energy demand and a continued reliance on burning fossil fuels has become a pressing need1. The Stern report recently stated that "We need to get better at carbon capture and sequestration very quickly". The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that by 2030, the demand for coal to generate electricity will soar by 88% and CO2 emissions will rise by 57%. The UK is seeking international commitment to cut carbon emissions by 60% by 2050, with a 26-32% reduction by 2020. This backdrop is driving the demand for carbon-abated fossil energy technologies as a short to medium term solution.
A preliminary estimate of the global market for carbon abatement technologies for coal combustion is £1,500billion over the period 2025 to 2050. The global market for carbon capture technologies was valued at $88.7billion in 2007 increasing at 21.8 % per annum2.
Novel regenerable solid adsorbents are widely considered to be the most viable technology for CO2 capture, because they are easy to operate and offer cost, size and energy consumption advantages. Many other developments have been focused on adsorbents that are produced by modifying various sorbent substrates with known CO2 active reagents. However, the performance of these modified sorbents is often significantly limited because of the dramatic loss of the sorbent porosity and/or primary functionality, properties that are jointly responsible for CO2 absorption.
To address these critical issues, this collaborative project will instead aim to develop innovative technologies to enable the cost-effective production of such efficient materials. The ultimate goal pursued by this project is to demonstrate and commercially exploit the CO2 capture techniques in real power plants and in other industries such as ammonia, natural gas and hydrogen production.
Commercial Potential and Further Development
Current and forthcoming environmental legislation means that the demand for carbon-abatement technologies is increasing rapidly. A preliminary estimate of the global market for the coal sector alone is £1,500Bn over the period 2025 to 2050.This extremely large market covers all abatement technologies, of which sorbents are a part. The current global market for carbon capture was worth $88.7Bn in 2007 growing at a rate of 21.8 %. China represents the largest growth market for abatement technology, linked to the rapid increase in new-build coal fired power stations. The sub-pilot scale trial proposed here is targeted strongly at coal fired power station situations.
The project output of high performance CO2 sorbent material, applicable to coal-fired power plants, will initially displace the costly state-of-the-art amine-based CO2 scrubbing process that currently represent the only real commercial solution to end-of-pipe gas treatment.
