| Background
Amine based post combustion CO2
capture is considered to be the most mature of the capture
technologies available today. Capture plants with a
capacity of up 300,000 tonnes of CO2
per year have already been constructed and there are
established suppliers.
The technology is based on washing the flue gas with
a solvent that captures CO2.
Thus, a small fraction of this solvent will be released
through the stack together with the cleaned flue gas.
For a 400 MWe CCGT plant a solvent slip of 1 ppm in
the flue gas will add up to about 40 tonnes per year.
This release may have a negative environmental impact
both directly and indirectly through subsequent solvent
degradation into other substances in the atmosphere.
The expected emissions of amines, additives and their
degradation products with flue gas stream and waste
product streams is a continued concern and regarded
as a possible show-stopper for the deployment of full
scale CO2 post combustion capture
using amines.
The major challenges are to quantify the amount and
composition of solvent and degradation products in the
cleaned flue gas, to understand the atmospheric fate
and degradation of these substances and to assess the
final impact on the environment. Additional important
topics are technical solutions for reducing the level
of solvent and degradation products in the cleaned flue
gas.
There is a clear lack of understanding in the characteristics
of the used solvents and their degradation products.
From a global perspective, it is clear that the activities
in relation to this topic are limited and there is a
clear need for co-operation and knowledge exchange between
the different parties doing research in this particular
field.
The "Environmental Impact of Amine Emission During
Post Combustion Capture" workshop is organised,
primarily to share information on the environmental
effect of using chemical solvents for the capture of
CO2, from conventional combustion
based fossil fuel fired power stations.
Objectives
Considering the above mentioned motivation,
a workshop with the following objectives will be organised:
• To give an overview of the current on-going
environmental impact activities
• A starting point to define gaps of knowledge
and R&D areas of interest
• An opportunity for the different active groups
to meet and to discuss the related environmental issues
• To build the basis for a future detailed IEA
GHG study on environmental impact of post combustion
capture. This may be the first activity for follow up
workshops or symposiums.
Workshop Content
The first workshop is organised by the IEA Greenhouse
Gas R&D Programme in partnership with Gassnova SF,
Norway. The objective is to bring together researchers
and industry involved in post combustion capture of
carbon dioxide to discuss the expected environmental
impact of large scale deployment of this technology,
the current ongoing activities in relation to this topic
and to share knowledge, experience and future plans.
Gassnova SF is a Norwegian state enterprise for carbon
capture and storage. The objective of Gassnova SF is
to manage governmental interest in CCS. This includes
the Norwegian CCS projects at Mongstad and Kårstø
as well as supporting technology development through
the CLIMIT R,D&D subsidy programme. For more information
see: www.gassnova.no.
The one day workshop will take place at Hotel
Folketeateret on 16 February 2010. Speakers from
different institutes and companies have been invited,
including authorities, technology providers, technology
end users, research institutes and universities.
A meal will be organised for the preceding evening
(15th). |
