Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has received an order for what will be the world’s largest post combustion CO2 capture system. It will be installed at an enhanced oil recovery project in Texas promoted by NRG Energy Inc., an independent power producer, and JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation, Japan. The system will capture CO2 from flue gas from an existing coal-fired power generation plant and will have a CO2 capture capacity of 4776 metric tons per day, representing a capture efficiency of 90%. The system is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The EOR project involves the separation and capture of CO2 from flue gas emitted from Unit 8 of NRG’s WA Parish generation station, a coal-fired power generation plant located 60 km southwest of Houston, Texas. The CO2 will be injected into the nearby West Ranch oil field to boost crude oil production.
The capture system will consist of a flue-gas quencher, absorber and regeneration system, CO2 compression unit, and utility facilities. MHI’s CO2 capture technology is the KM CDR Process, which uses a proprietary KS-1 high-performance solvent for absorption and desorption that was jointly developed by MHI and the Kansai Electric Power Co. MHI says that compared with other capture technologies, the CDR Process uses significantly less energy.