A New Sorbent Process for Transformational Carbon Capture Process

Although there are several methods for separating CO2 from the flue gases, all have significant drawbacks, including loss of efficiency and increased capital and operating costs (compared to no CO2 capture) that dramatically increase the cost of electricity. In this SBIR Contract TDA Research, Inc. (TDA), in collaboration with Membrane Technology Research Corporation (MTR), is developing a high capacity, highly selective engineered polymer sorbent to selectively CO2 from the flue gases of coal-fired power plants. In Phase I we prepared various sorbent formulations and screened them to determine their capacity to adsorb CO2 and completed a preliminary design of our carbon capture system (CCS). In Phase II we continued to optimize the sorbent to enhance its CO2 capacity and scaled-up its production. We then assessed the performance of the sorbent beads in a 2-5 scfm unit using simulated flue gas. We also prepared these sorbents in laminates to reduce the pressure drop and keep the mass and heat transfer distances small, allowing them to be cycled rapidly. Our sorbent is now scheduled for a field test at Wyoming Integrated Test Center (WITC) under actual coal-derived flue gas. Next we will run extended cycling tests with our sorbent. We completed a technoeconomic analysis showing TDA’s sorbent technology can capture CO2 at a cost of $28.9/tonne (meeting DOE target for transformational CCS). TDA, in collaboration with MTR, will scale-up the production of the sorbent laminates and further develop the rapid cycling process to capture CO2 from flue gas. This innovation will significantly lower the size of the sorbent beds and the CAPEX. We will then test these scaled-up sorbent laminate modules in our 10-50 scfm prototype unit to complete the proof-of-concept demonstrations in a multi-bed system, demonstrating high CO2 capture (>95%) and high CO2 purity (>95%) with both simulated (at TDA) and the actual coal derived flue gas (at the WITC), elevating to TRL 5. CO2 is a major greenhouse gas and power generation is a major source of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. It is the result of the combustion of fossil fuels, in particular the burning of coal to generate electricity. The proposed technology will provide a cost effective way to control CO2 emissions.