Transformational Cryogenic Process for Carbon Dioxide Capture

CO2 capture technologies that require lower capital and parasitic power are needed to make CO2 capture viable for sequestration and EOR applications. The current state-of-the-art CO2 capture technology, aqueous amine absorption, has a number of drawbacks, including significant capital and operating costs. The proposed CO2 capture process can reduce the parasitic energy requirements for the capture step as well as the power needed for the CO2 compression step thereby significantly reducing the overall energy needed for CO2 capture. The overall goal of this program is to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of CO2 capture under cryogenic conditions. This will be combined with a cost-effective flue gas pre- treatment process to remove moisture and acid gas impurities prior to CO2 capture. The process is expected to produce CO2 at pressure and should have lower parasitic power as well as lower capital cost compared to solvent-based capture processes. Another goal of the program is to develop commercial relationships to enable rapid technology commercialization after the conclusion of Phase I and a potential Phase II project. InnoSepra has identified materials that have very good CO2 capacities and CO2-N2 separation factors at cryogenic conditions. This coupled with a cost-effective pre-treatment process for the removal of moisture and other impurities developed in another project can lead to a cost- effective process for CO2 capture. During the project, InnoSepra will obtain data for cryogenic CO2 capture at the laboratory scale, determine the optimum operating conditions for cryogenic capture, and optimize the pressure of CO2 product to enable reduction in the parasitic power. Through process simulation and a techno-economic analysis InnoSepra will also demonstrate that the cryogenic CO2 capture can lead to both lower capital and a lower parasitic power leading to a lower cost process for CO2 capture compared to other CO2 capture processes. If this technology is successful it can have a major impact on the future of fossil fuel-based power generation. We can continue to produce electrical power in a cost-effective way using abundant supplies of fossil fuels with significantly lower emissions of greenhouse gases, and without having a significant adverse effect on America's economic competitiveness. If the captured CO2 is used for enhanced oil recovery it will further reduce our dependence on imported oil.