Emissions

NETL-supported carbon capture tech is ready for testing

This specific technology approach uses a monolithic amine contactor to capture CO2 from natural gas combined-cycle point sources.
NETL-supported carbon capture tech is ready for testing
NETL experts and representatives of the Department of Energy (DOE) visited North Carolina to review final preparations to ship and test a lower-cost transformational technology developed by CORMETECH Inc. that is designed to capture at least 95% of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the flue gas of natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plants. Credit: NETL.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) said it will soon ship a “lower-cost” point-source carbon-capture technology to the U.S. National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) in Alabama for testing for use in large natural gas combined-cycle (NGCC) plants.

The technology, developed by CORMETECH Inc., is designed to capture at least 95% of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the flue gas of NGCC power plants. CORMETECH received funding from DOE-NETL to develop the technology in a project titled Bench Scale Test of a Polyethyleneimine Monolith Carbon Capture Process for Natural Gas Combined Cycle Point Sources.

This specific technology approach uses a monolithic amine contactor to capture CO2 from natural gas combined-cycle point sources. The monolith is a honeycomb structure with tiny flow channels for flue gas to pass through. The CO2 within the flue gas adsorbs to the amine (polyethyleneimine) that is contained within the monolith’s internal porous structure. The CO2 is later desorbed using steam for subsequent storage or use. The process is like Global Thermostat’s leading direct air capture process but incorporates modifications that enable its application at NGCC plants, NETL said.

The CORMETECH project was among 12 projects awarded a total of $45 million in federal funding to advance point-source carbon capture and storage technologies that can capture at least 95% of CO2 emissions generated from natural gas power and industrial facilities.

Of the 491 GW of natural gas-fired electric-generating capacity in the country, more than half are combined-cycle systems that include both steam turbines and combustion turbines, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.