The US Department of Energy (DOE) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) have launched a new 1MWth facility which aims to test an advanced process to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from coal-fired power plants.
The project is intended to assess oxy-fired pressurized fluidized bed combustion (oxy-PFBC), a process which uses pure oxygen instead of air to burn fuel and produces heat that generates electricity without generating other pollutants.
The project, which has the potential to capture 98% of CO2 emissions, can produce power from biomass or fossil fuels.
By concentrating on the CO2 produced prior to combustion of fuel in the turbine, the process can greatly reduce the cost of CO2 capturing, the US Energy Department said.
The CO2 which is captured can be stored or used to develop other products such as feedstock and chemicals.
DOE Fossil Energy Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Douglas Hollett said: “It also highlights the importance of the long-standing US-Canadian collaboration on clean energy technology development.”
Natural Resources Canada’s CanmetENERGY laboratory in Ottawa was selected to host the project, which will also help advance the commercialization of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) in the US as well as Canada.
Gas Technology Institute (GTI) is leading the project in partnership with the Linde Group, the Electric Power Research Institute, Alstom Power and Alberta Innovates.
Canadian Parliamentary Secretary to Natural Resources Minister Kim Rudd said: "This project demonstrates the important role clean energy technologies play in our transition to a lower-carbon economy.”
Backed by $13m grant under DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy’s advanced combustion program, the project is managed by the Department’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).