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    June, 2005

Vol 1 Chapter 11: Pre-Combustion Decarbonisation Technology Summary

Henrik Andersen

Abstract: The CO₂ Capture Project (CCP) was formed in late 2000 and after a review and evaluation phase began actual technical development work near the end of 2001. Most of the technology providers had only 2 years to complete their work. Even then, significant progress and advances in several key areas were made. New insights on adoption of existing technology in the CCP industrial scenarios were achieved. The key results from the pre-combustion technology development projects are:

• Four new advanced technologies were developed to “proof-of-concept” with significant advancement in efficiency, cost and CO₂ capture compared to the best available capture technology.
• The four technologies showed cost reduction potential in the range from 30 to 60%, with the Hydrogen Membrane Reformer demonstrating the highest potential.
• Three of the new advanced technologies were developed for different CCP scenarios. The designs were checked, integrated, and cost estimated by an independent contractor (Fluor) in order to assure design quality and consistency when comparing with the baseline technology, thus enhancing credibility of the conclusions.
• Significant advancements were made in hydrogen membrane materials covering a wide temperature range.
• Further development is needed to advance the most promising technologies, however, it is expected that new technologies can be developed and demonstrated in 2010–2015 with costs in the range of $15–40 MM.
• Pre-combustion technology can be developed to meet stringent requirements on NOx, CO, and SOx formation. The lowest NOx formation was predicted to be 5 ppm vol. from a combined cycle gas turbine. For open-cycle gas turbines, the NOx formation was reduced by 50%. CO and SOx formation were virtually zero.
• Pre-combustion technology can be designed as stand-alone facilities for both retrofit and new build applications giving a wide application range and benefits with respect to integration in existing complex facilities, e.g. refineries.
• Pre-combustion technology can be used for other applications, e.g. gas-to-liquids (GTL), ammonia, hydrogen and syngas production, thus increasing the economic potential of the technology and return of investment.
• Significant improvement in energy and CO₂ capture efficiency was obtained for several technologies, resulting in an efficiency penalty for combined cycle gas turbines of less than 5% with nearly 100% CO₂ capture.
• A 15% improvement of gas turbine heat rate can be obtained when switching from natural gas to hydrogenrich fuel, making the pre-combustion technology a strong candidate for the large numbers of open-cycle gas turbines in operation in the US.
• Demonstrated very low CO₂ avoided costs for the Canadian scenario—CO₂ capture from petroleum coke fired IGCC—approximately $10–15 per ton.
• Existing pre-combustion technology can be considered proven for a wide range of CO₂ capture applications including the CCP scenarios.

Carbon Dioxide Capture for Storage in Deep Geologic Formations – Results from the CO₂ Capture Project Capture and Separation of Carbon Dioxide from Combustion Sources - Volume 1
Edited by: David C. Thomas, Senior Technical Advisor, Advanced Resources International Inc, USA

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