E.ON and Alstom have reached an agreement to develop a post-combustion carbon capture technology at E.ON’s power plant at Karlshamn, Sweden.
The method is based on the use of ammonia to capture the carbon dioxide. The new process, currently being developed by Alstom, can remove up to 90% of the carbon dioxide from power plant flue gases with the key advantage that it uses less energy than other CO2 removal processes. According to the company, studies demonstrate that Alstom’s technology may result in an energy loss of approximately 10% versus other methods of post-combustion CO2 separation, which result in losses of nearly 30%.
The pilot plant at Karlshamn is to start trial operation in early 2008.
Alstom has also signed a joint development contract with Norwegian gas and oil company Statoil, to test its chilled ammonia technology for CO2 capture from natural gas combined cycle power plants.
The agreement covers the design and construction of a 40 MW test and product validation facility at Statoil’s Mongstad refinery in Norway which will be designed to capture at least 80,000 tonnes of CO2 annually either from the refinery’s cracker unit or from a new combined heat and power plant being built by Statoil and scheduled to be in operation by 2010.
The test and product validation facility is expected to enter operation by 2009-2010 with the first operation and testing phase to last 12-18 months.
The deal follows an agreement between Alstom, AEP and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to develop the technology for application on coal-fired boilers and to carry out a pilot. The first field tests are due to commence later this year at a 15,000 tonnes per year capture pilot plant to be located at the We Energies Pleasant Prairie power plant, in Wisconsin.
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