Nov 18 2008
Air Products (NYSE: APD), a global leader in the production of industrial gases, is using its unique understanding of technical options for capturing greenhouse gases to collaborate with the Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI) on a study focused on an advanced carbon dioxide capture technology for use with gasification. The advanced carbon capture technology, developed by Air Products, could reduce the cost of carbon dioxide (CO2) capture by up to 25 percent compared to current technologies. The study titled “Advanced Hydrogen and CO2 Capture Technology for Sour Syngas” is expected to be completed by October 2010.
“This work is important in the development of clean power, or hydrogen projects via gasification, because of its potential to achieve high levels of CO2 capture and lower the overall cost of that capture element. This would make CO2 capture a more attractive option for operators of gasifiers and similar industries generating large volumes of emissions. The project’s end target is to have a company committed to site a demonstration plant using this advanced technology,” said Steve Carney, business development manager at Air Products.
“The Alberta Government has made a very significant commitment towards advancing the commercialization of carbon capture and storage (CCS),” said Dr. Eddy Isaacs, executive director of AERI. “Substantive technological innovation will be needed to reduce capital and operating cost and the energy requirements for CCS. We are pleased to work on this project with Air Products in a staged approach of developing technology that will significantly reduce the costs of capture.” AERI is the strategic energy technology arm of the Alberta Government in the Ministry of Advanced Education and Technology. Its mission is to enhance the development of Alberta's energy resources through investment in research, technology and innovation in partnership with industry.
The project will do a technological and economic assessment of Air Products’ developmentof an alternative CO2 capture option that uses its decades of experience in the design and operation of hydrogen pressure swing adsorption (“PSA”) systems associated with steam methane reforming. The separation of hydrogen sulfide and CO2 from hydrogen, upon which the new alternative process is based, provides advantages over existing selective gas separation technologies, particularly when the process is integrated with a gas turbine for the production of electricity. The full system uses hydrogen PSA technology, adapted to handle sour feedgas oxyfuel burner technology, in conjunction with sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide, and inert gas removal systems originally developed by Air Products.
“This single unit capability could effectively remove the need for two separate unit operations for hydrogen sulfide removal and hydrogen or power production. This could allow up to 25 percent cost savings on CO2 capture, while still achieving the desired high levels of CO2 capture,” said Carney.
The overall objectives of the project also include experimental validation testing on differing feedstocks and process conditions to enable the pre-front end engineering design of the pilot facility. The scope of this work also includes assessing, selecting and engaging candidate sites as first adopters.