Current status of MHI CO2 capture plant technology, large scale demonstration project and road map to commercialization for coal fired flue gas application

• Published in: Energy procedia 2011, Vol.4, p.1513-1519
• Main Authors: Endo, Takahiko, Kajiya, Yoshinori, Nagayasu, Hiromitsu, Iijima, Masaki, Ohishi, Tsuyoshi, Tanaka, Hiroshi, Mitchell, Ronald
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: CO2 capture; Coal fired flue gas; Demonstration plant; Global warming; MHI
• ISSN: 1876-6102; 1876-6102
• DOI: 10.1016/j.egypro.2011.02.019

(1) It is becoming increasingly evident that the prolonged utilization of fossil fuels for primary energy production, especially coal which is relatively cheap and abundant, is inevitable and that Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology can significantly reduce CO2 emissions from this sector thus allowing the continued environmentally sustainable use of this important energy commodity on a global basis. (2) MHI has co-developed the Kansai Mitsubishi Carbon Dioxide Recovery Process (KM-CDR Process™) and KS-1™ absorbent, which has been deployed in seven CO2 capture plants, now under commercial operation operating at a CO2 capture capacity of 450 metric tons per day (tpd). In addition, a further two commercial plants are now under construction all of which capture CO2 from natural gas fired flue gas boilers and steam reformers. Accordingly this technology is now available for commercial scale CO2 capture for gas boiler and gas turbine application. (3) However before offering commercial CO2 capture plants for coal fired flue gas application, it is necessary to verify the influence of, and develop countermeasures for, related impurities contained in coal fired flue gas. This includes the influence on both the absorbent and the entire system of the CO2 capture plant to achieve high operational reliability and minimize maintenance requirements. (4) Preventing the accumulation of impurities, especially the build up of dust, is very important when treating coal fired flue gas and MHI has undertaken significant work to understand the impact of impurities in order to achieve reliable and stable operating conditions and to efficiently optimize integration between the CO2 capture plant, the coal fired power plant and the flue gas clean up equipment. (5) To achieve this purpose, MHI constructed a 10 tpd CO2 capture demonstration plant at the Matsushima 1000 MW Power Station and confirmed successful, long term demonstration following ∼5000 hours of operation in 2006–07 with 50% financial support by RITE, as a joint program to promote technological development with the private sector, and cooperation from J-POWER. (6) Following successful demonstration testing at Matsushima, additional testing was undertaken in 2008 to examine the impact of entrainment of higher levels of flue gas impurities (primarily SOx and dust by bypassing the existing FGD) and to determine which components of the CO2 recovery process are responsible for the removal of these impurities. Following