Carbon capture commercialisation

The US Department of Energy has selected two projects to demonstrate oxycombustion, a promising carbon capture technology, in existing coal-fired power plants. The projects, valued at nearly $10 million, are expected to help expedite the timeline for commercialisation of oxycombustion technology through slipstream or pilot plant testing.

In an oxycombustion-based power plant, oxygen rather than air is used to combust a fuel resulting in a highly pure carbon dioxide (CO2) exhaust that can be captured at relatively low-cost and sequestered.

According to the DoE, no commercial oxygen combustion power plants are operating today, due mainly to the high cost of producing oxygen. Significant reduction in the cost of oxygen compared to today’s best cryogenic technology is a key requirement to making the oxycombustion power plant a viable future option. The two projects selected by DOE show promise for reducing those costs when compared to existing CO2 capture systems.

Babcock and Wilcox (B&W) and the BOC Group have been selected for this co-operative agreement.