Publication Overview
This report is considered the 3rd in a series of reports summarizing the learning points from the different IEAGHG activities. This series of reports started by summarizing the learning points from the storage activities (report 2009/TR1, February 2009) and the CCS demonstration projects (report 2009/TR6, November 2009). This 3rd report summarises key learning points on CO2 capture and generic CCS studies from Operating Phase 5 of the IEAGHG, which commenced in 2005 and effectively coincided with the publication of the IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (IPCC SRCCS). IEAGHG activities revolve mainly around contracted studies and organisation of the international research networks.
Publication Summary
The conclusions listed in this section were extracted directly from the different IEAGHG studies in the period 2005-2009. This makes these conclusions time dependent, which means that some of these conclusions could not be completely correct now and might change in the future.
- Efforts to improve the solvent scrubbing capture systems need to carry on because the main challenge of reducing the capture cost still exists.
- For post combustion capture, solvent scrubbing is considered the state of the art and the solid adsorbents and membranes based processes are considered to be 2nd or even 3rd generation technologies.
- The changeable economic climate makes the economic evaluation and costs estimates uncertain and that requires special caution while assessing these results.
- The increase in the cost of electricity, efficiency losses and costs of CO2 avoided are quite similar for the three major capture technologies (post, pre and oxy-fuel combustion).
- The oxy-fuel combustion needs further development in key areas including: plant start up, control systems, burner and flame characterisation. However, none of these development areas are likely to represent technical show stopper.
