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Chris Hendriks (Ecofys), Erika de Visser (Ecofys), Daan Jansen (ECN), Gerrit Jan Ruijg (ECN), Michiel Carbo (ECN)
Citation: IEAGHG, "CO₂ Capture from Medium Scale Combustion Installations", 2007-07, July 2007.
The study assesses the costs and performance of medium-scale CO₂ capture technologies The focus is on CO₂ capture from medium-scale power generation systems, from medium-scale systems for industrial heat production and from medium-scale combined heat and power systems. Other industrial processes which produce CO₂, such as cement, metallurgical and petrochemical processes are not considered in this study With respect to the size, we focus on novel technologies which will become available on the longer term, because it is expected that CO₂ is only likely to be captured from medium-scale sources when most large-scale capture opportunities have been exhausted. An exception is the MEA scrubbing technology which is currently used in industrial applications at a scale of 50 to 400 kt per year. The study only considers new systems and does not consider retrofit systems.
Medium scale combustion installations (1-100MWth) account for substantial emissions of CO₂, of the order of 15-20% of total global emissions. There is therefore considerable technical potential for CO₂ capture. Natural gas fired boilers are the most significant medium scale combustion installations in the EU and USA but coal fired boilers are most significant in China.
Plants for capture of CO₂ from medium scale natural gas-fired boilers using amine scrubbing are already commercially available, for example for supply of CO₂ to the food and drinks industries.
Various alternative CO₂ capture technologies may be suitable for medium scale installations.
The costs of CO₂ capture depend strongly on local conditions, including the size of the installation, the operating load factor and the ability to make use of any low grade heat that is rejected by the capture process. Installations which are only operated seasonally or for peak load duties will have relatively high costs of avoiding CO₂ emissions.
A boiler combined with membrane oxygen production offers the prospect of a significantly lower cost of capture than post combustion amine scrubbing for a medium scale installation. However, development of such a system presents considerable challenges and research, development and demonstration is needed.
The cost of capture and storage of CO₂ from medium scale installations depends on the proximity of other CO₂ sources, to give economies of scale in CO₂ pipeline systems. IEA GHG will shortly publish another study which assesses the feasibility and costs of collecting CO₂ from medium scale installations.
The economic feasibility of capturing CO₂ from medium scale installations will depend on the carbon price, which will depend on the extent to which global emissions of CO₂ need to be reduced and the costs of alternative ways of reducing emissions. Further work in this area is needed.
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