Built at a cost of $3m, in which ABB allocated $1.5m, the plant demonstrates how carbon dioxide emissions can be captured in real-life applications.
ABB said the four-story pilot plant is the only facility of its kind in an academic institution in the world and can separate 1.2 metric tons of CO2 a day from other harmless emissions in a continuous recycling process where the same gases are stored, remixed and separated again and again.
Imperial College London pilot plant project director Daryl Williams said the plant gives the University’s students the opportunity to run one of the most sophisticated carbon capture pilot plants in the world.
"We can create a range of scenarios for students, so that they can experience and help to solve the problems that engineers in the real world face every day," he added.
"By providing this intense training, we aim to provide our graduates with the best possible start and to provide industry with the type of high caliber, well-trained employees that they are crying out for all over the world."
ABB has provided a range of electrical, control and instrumentation products including a System 800xA control room, which power and control the entire process and provide real-time data on flow, temperature, pressure, level, pH and CO2 levels as part of a 10-year deal with the UK University.
The engineering firm will also offer the University access to advanced control and instrumentation technology as well as life cycle services and support for the installation.
