SBIR PhaseI: Split Amine Absorbent for CO2 Capture from Post Combustion Flue Gas of Coal Fired Power Plants

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to demonstrate an innovative low cost, low energy-consuming, and novel CO2 capture technology based on a process entitled ?Split Amine Absorption?. The Phase I objective is to develop data necessary to confirm the principle of the concept and to identify at least one set of optimum absorbent composition for the CO2 capture from flue gas of post combustion coal fired power plants. The approach to accomplishing the objective consists of: 1) continue bench-scale experiments (Phase I); 2) design and install a prototype pilot scale system and to operate, test, collect data and optimize its performance. The system will be installed as a slipstream unit in an existing coal fired power plant. It will be designed to achieve at least 90% CO2 removal efficiency. The data collected will be used to evaluate the technical and economic viability of the technology (Phase II). The broader impacts of this research are significant reduction of the cost of CO2 capture. The cost of capture and sequestration will be over 200 billions U.S. Dollars a year with current MEA amine-based technologies. The cost for CO2 capture alone accounts for more than 75 percent of the total cost of capture, transportation, and storage. Reducing this cost is the key to make coal an economically viable and socially acceptable fuel for generating electricity.