Oct 6 2005
BASF and JGC Corporation, Japan, are jointly developing a new technology for removing and storing the carbon dioxide (CO2) contained in natural gas. The cooperation aims to develop a process that will shave some 20 percent off the cost of traditional methods. Set up for an expected term of eight years, the joint effort of the two companies is being sponsored by the METI, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The process is of interest with a view to the Kyoto Protocol, which seeks to achieve a long-term reduction of climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions. JGC counts among the most prestigious global plant engineering companies.
Underground storage of carbon dioxide to save energy
Natural gas, an increasingly important source of energy, more often than not contains CO2 when it is extracted, most of which is usually removed directly at the natural-gas source. This is achieved by means of a solvent which temporarily absorbs the CO2 from the high-pressure natural gas stream. Then the solvent is regenerated at low pressure, and fed back to the process. The CO2 released in the regeneration process has traditionally been emitted to the environment. This causes several million tons of CO2 greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere each year.
This effect is eliminated if the CO2, once removed from the natural gas, is injected back underground for storage. To do that, however, the CO2 must first be compressed above the CO2 supercritical pressure. This has to date required high energy input, which the new process can reduce significantly: There are plans to use a solvent that will not be affected by high pressure levels and the associated elevated temperatures during regeneration, remaining stable and intact in the process. The new solvent regeneration process can then be operated at a higher pressure. This reduces the cost of compressing the CO2 for underground re-injection.
The cooperation of the two partners therefore focuses on developing a suitable solvent, along with the tailor-made process for using it. The project includes plans to build a test plant at JGC in Japan in order to facilitate near-realistic testing and optimization of the process.
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