American Electric Power and Alstom to commercialize CO2 capture by 2011
American Electric Power and power plant supplier Alstom have agreed to work together to implement a commercial scale version of Alstom's carbon capture technology by 2011. The first phase of the project will involve the construction of a 30MW demonstration plant to validate the system. It will be constructed next to an existing AEP power plant in New Haven, West Virginia. It should be able to capture 100,000 tonnes of CO2 annually that will be stored in deep saline aquifers near the site. The demonstrator should start up around the end of 2008. The second commercial scale phase would include a 200MW capture system on a plant in Oologah, Oklahoma, to capture up to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 annually. Alstom's system uses chilled ammonia to capture the CO2 from the combustion exhaust stream. Lab testing of the system has shown it to be capable of capturing up to ninety percent of the CO2 in the exhaust stream at a lower cost than other capture technologies. The system is designed to be able to be retrofitted to existing plants or built in to new ones.
[Source: Alstom]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chetan 6:59PM (5/10/2008)
This project will set a benchmark for all leading co2 emitting industries n power plants, and awakening call to takle the globle warming.
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Howard Lee Harkness 11:53AM (3/16/2007)
"...capture 100,000 tonnes of CO2 annually that will be stored in deep saline aquifers..."
Seems to me that the best sequestration mechanism of CO2 would be in the form of plantlife.
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Owen 2:54PM (3/16/2007)
Howard, right on!
To put it in perspective, 100,000 Tonnes, that's roughly 4,000,000 trees worth of CO2 removal power.
That may seem like a lot, but that is only roughly 5000 acres of trees.
Which if you think that is a lot, there are roughly 20,000 acres of Rainforest cut per day (which are considerably more dense than the estimates that I am using) and more still cut in other areas. Which, is conservatively speaking, 4 of those carbon capture plants per day. So instead of building 4 of those plants per day, instead, perhaps we should take a look at our raw material sources for consumables for everything from batteries(sorry EV lovers) to urban sprawl. Few companies put the money back into the environment they are exploiting. Proctor and Gamble invests heavily to replant the forests which it consumes in the making of Diapers and TP, partially because they have to, but at least they do something. But our demand for cheap goods, doesn't lend itself to conservation. China will learn this the hard way, as will many other countries currently wrecking thier natural habitats for the sake of economic growth. When I was in China 10 years ago, most people rode bikes or motorcycles, now I see everywhere, cars and motorcycles, and in some cities the air is sickening from air pollution, they make US look good, you'll breath easy on a hot day in LA after time in souther China, believe it or not, a good portion of Cali pollution comes from china.
Okay, but now that I've burned my soapbox. I should make a car related point since it is AUTObloggreen. A toyota Prius produces ~4000lbs of co2 anually, so in order for you to offset yourself, you need to plant ~100 trees... Per year. Compare that to your average Gas-swilling Toyota Sequoia, at ~14000lbs, Yep, ~300 trees you would need to plant yearly to offset the amount of CO2 you're dumping into the atmosphere.
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Thomas Brown 1:47PM (3/17/2007)
100,000 tonnes/day is only for the trial plant. The full scale one will do 15 times that! Its not a bad technology. To start from the source and get rid of CO2 is a good thing but this will hold off the replacement of dirty power even longer. If the big wheels in oil and gas show that the oil-fired plants are now "clean" (well, 90% cleaner), it'll allow them enough of an excuse to tell the gov't to keep them.
Like most things, it's a double-edged sword.
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Howard Lee Harkness 11:38PM (3/17/2007)
"The full scale one will do 15 times that!" -- Thomas Brown
Whoopie!!! So we only have to built a little over 2 a week to offset current deforestation. Problem solved...?
Not.
That is working on the wrong end of the problem. Or, maybe just the wrong problem altogether.
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