Carbon Capture, more specifically CO2 capture, at coal fired power plants has the appeal of reducing CO2 emissions while still enabling us to use our most abundant fossil fuel resource, coal. However, capturing CO2 from current power plant flue gas is very costly because it is so diluted with nitrogen.
The potential CCS breakthrough involves oxidizing coal to release its stored energy using other sources of oxygen than air, so the dilution-with-nitrogen problem is eliminated. Other sources of oxygen can be iron oxide, or water.
Pulverized coal, mixed with iron oxide and heated to 1,650 deg F will react to form mostly CO2 and iron. The CO2 is very pure, approximately 99.5% after any water vapor has been condensed out, and thus the CO2 is ready for sequestration. The iron is then burned back to iron oxide using air as a source of oxygen, and it releases the energy originally from the coal to create steam and run a generator. The iron oxide thus formed is then recycled or "looped" back in the process.
Ohio State is the pioneer in this technology, known as Coal-Direct Chemical Looping (CDCL). The option using oxygen from water is known as Syngas Chemical Looping (SCL). Both are described in Midwest Energy News.
My view? I am optimistic! It is very revolutionary technology for power production, but it is very well known technology. The World's coal resources are vast, so where solar and wind generating potential are limited, it could become a valuable resource to help save our Earth, more or less as we know it, for future generations.
The potential CCS breakthrough involves oxidizing coal to release its stored energy using other sources of oxygen than air, so the dilution-with-nitrogen problem is eliminated. Other sources of oxygen can be iron oxide, or water.
Pulverized coal, mixed with iron oxide and heated to 1,650 deg F will react to form mostly CO2 and iron. The CO2 is very pure, approximately 99.5% after any water vapor has been condensed out, and thus the CO2 is ready for sequestration. The iron is then burned back to iron oxide using air as a source of oxygen, and it releases the energy originally from the coal to create steam and run a generator. The iron oxide thus formed is then recycled or "looped" back in the process.
Ohio State is the pioneer in this technology, known as Coal-Direct Chemical Looping (CDCL). The option using oxygen from water is known as Syngas Chemical Looping (SCL). Both are described in Midwest Energy News.
My view? I am optimistic! It is very revolutionary technology for power production, but it is very well known technology. The World's coal resources are vast, so where solar and wind generating potential are limited, it could become a valuable resource to help save our Earth, more or less as we know it, for future generations.
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