B&W captures CO2 in coal-fired pilot plant tests

Enstreet News Bureau
2/2/2010

Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation (B&W PGG; Barberton, OH), a leader in advanced energy technology innovation and service, researchers have successfully captured CO₂ emissions from a pilot-scale, coal-fired boiler using advanced solvents and a proprietary CO₂-capture process developed at the company's research center in Barberton, Ohio. B&W PGG is an operating unit of The Babcock & Wilcox Company.

B&W PGG has conducted its first demonstration on flue gas from a coal-fired boiler at the company's Regenerable Solvent Absorption Technology (RSAT) Pilot Plant. Researchers were able to continuously remove more than 90% of the CO₂ from the Small Boiler Simulator II's flue gas stream using a fully integrated RSAT process. B&W PGG researchers are now evaluating proprietary solvents and characterizing their performance at this scale.

The RSAT process uses a liquid solvent in an absorber vessel to remove CO₂ from a plant's flue gas stream. The CO₂ can then be removed from the solvent and prepared for long-term storage or other uses, such as enhanced oil recovery, while the solvent is recycled and reused.

"This is a major milestone in B&W PGG's research and development of carbon-capture technologies for fossil-fuel fired power plants," said B&W PGG President and Chief Operating Officer Richard L. Killion. "These tests reinforce our belief that the RSAT process offers substantial promise as an economical and efficient post-combustion CO₂-capture technology and that B&W PGG is a leader in this important field."

Pilot-scale testing of solvents began at the B&W Research Center in June 2009 and will continue throughout 2010.

Source: Babcock & Wilcox