http://www.me.gatech.edu/faculty/fedorov.shtml
Towards “Sustainable Carbon
Economy”Technological Challenges and
Opportunities for CO2 Capture & Sequestration
Andrei G. Fedorov, PhDProfessor & Woodruff Faculty Fellow
George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical EngineeringGeorgia Institute of Technology
404-385-1356 (voice) & [email protected] (e-mail)
Presentation includes materials provided by Professors Jones, Koros, Chance, Eckert, Liotta and Lieuwen (Georgia Tech) & ARPA-E website
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 2
The Need for Sustainable Energy Options
1) Reduce energy consumption (conservation; efficiency but economic growth worldwide???)
2) Rely on renewable energy (solar; wind; nuclear; carbon-neutral/biofuels but accessibility/usability/transportability & time scale for implementation???)
3) Sequester CO2 emissions (capture & “permanent” storage: oceans, deep earth but feasibility/accessibility/sustainability???)
Long term challenges:
- Meet the growing global demand for energy (~25 TW by 2050 & ~45 TW by 2100 globally) as fossil fuel reserves become depleted
- Stabilize atmospheric CO2 concentration at a “safe” level
Sustainable Future in a carbon-constrained world?
Every available options will have to be utilized (no silver bullet)!
What is feasible/economic & time horizons for different applications?
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 3
Energy Outlook
– Energy demand growth to 2030 will be dominated by developing (non-Kyoto, non-OECD) countries.
– With business as usual, fossil fuels will supply the bulk of the demand growth.
– With business as usual, CO2 emissions will continue to grow.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
2003 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030BIL
LIO
N M
ET
RIC
TO
NS
Non-OECDOECD
60% of CO2 Emissions Growth in Developing World
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 4
Continued use of fossil fuel in a carbon constrained world will require all of the following:
• Moderating demand (e.g., by improving energy efficiency) near-term (2-5 years)
• Implementing large scale CO2 abatement strategies, including capture and sequestration near-term to mid-term (2-10 years)
• Developing low/no-carbon renewable energy sources mid-term to long-term (5-10 and beyond 10 years)
Energy Outlook and CO2 Capture
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 5
Active Sequestration of CO2 Emissions
Bad & Good News for Electric Power Generation
Source: DOE
Large point sources (e.g. power plants) account for ~1/3 of CO2 emission, but
steady-state, large physical size, economy of scale
well covered in literature; area of active research [DOE, industry support]
Small distributed sources (transportation) account for ~1/3 of CO2 emission, but
transient operation, constrained size, convenience, harsh environments
neglected in literature; little or no active research [few notable exceptions]
280
300
320
340
360
380
400
1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000
Atmospheric Concentration of CO2
Year
Ca
rbo
n D
ioxi
de
[p
pm
]
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 6
Economic Drivers for Technological Advances
Wedges with negative cost and large abatement potential (base) should drive tactical (near term) research: focus on technology development and deployment based on already established scientific foundation.
Strategic (longer term) wedges with largest abatement potential (base) and largest positive cost: dramatic lowering the cost will require drastic, step-change in technology based on scientific discoveries and engineering inventions.
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 7
CO2 Capture and Sequestration
is
Likely Near/Mid-Term Need
as
Transition to Sustainable Energy
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 8
Carbon Capture and Sequestration
Can we capture fossil carbon and sequester it safely?
• Consider our largest point sources of fossil-derived CO2: electricity generating power plants.
• Roughly 1/3 of US carbon emissions come from power plants.
• Can we capture CO2 from fossil-fueled power plants today?
YES! But the cost is significant………….
• If we capture CO2 from fossil-fueled power plants today, can we sequester it in a semi-permanent manner?
YES! But technical and legal questions remain………
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 9
Typical 500 MW coal power stations produces ~9.2 tons of CO2 per minute
Capture with current technology is expensive Developing low-cost approach is key for
implementation
Coal
Air
Power StationSOx scrubber
To stackTo CO2 pipeline
CO2 capture system
Coal
Air
Power StationSOx scrubber
To stackTo CO2 pipeline
CO2 capture system
Power Generation with CO2 Capture: Scale & Cost
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 10
Carbon Capture Today: Post-Combustion CO2 Capture
• CO2 capture from pulverized coal plants using liquid amine scrubbers has been developed in the oil and gas industry for removing CO2 from methane• Mature, commercial technology, but expensive for flue gas applications (could raise the cost of electricity by 65-81% from ~5 cents per kilowatt-hour to ~8-9 cents per kilowatt-hour).
Source: DOE-NETL
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 11
Post-Combustion CO2 Capture Today
• Aqueous amine-based (liquid phase) CO2 absorption is “mature” technology with major problems:
-- massive amounts of recirculating amine and water needed.-- large energy loss in heating the water in the stripping (regeneration) step.
• National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has estimated an 65-81% increase in the cost of electricity for capture with this mature amine technology.
NH2HO
monoethanolamine, MEA
HN
HO OH
diethanolamine, DEA
NHO OH
methyldiethanolamine, MDEA
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 12
Near-Future Transition: Oxy-Combustion with CO2 Capture
• Burn coal using pure oxygen rather than air, producing a more concentrated CO2 stream that is more amenable to capture and sequestration. • No reliable cost-increase estimates have been reported.
Source: DOE-NETL
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 13
Why coal?... Abundant worldwide reserves (Top 5 coal reserves ~70% of total resource: USA, Russia, China, Australia, Germany (70%)
“Coal’s future is … not a matter of resource availability or … cost but one of environmental acceptability.” (V. Smil “Energy at the Crossroads”)
coal CO, H2O CO2, H2
CO2 capture(contaminants OK)
H2 for energy use(high purity)
Partial oxidation Water gas shift
Coal gasification provides an avenuefor CO2-neutral use of coal(DOE FutureGen program)
Gasification is a “platform technology” that can also be used with natural gas & biomass
CO2 - Neutral Use of Coal: Is it Possible/Feasible?
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 14
Future Carbon Capture: Pre-Combustion CO2 Capture
Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC): Gasify coal to synthesis gas (H2+CO), convert CO to CO2 and more H2, and separate CO2 from H2 before combustion.
Analysis conducted at NETL shows that CO2 capture and compression raises the cost of electricity from a newly built IGCC power plant by 30%, from an average of 7.8 cents per kilowatt-hour to 10.2 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Source: DOE-NETL
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 15
CO2 Sequestration
What are the possibilities?
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 16
Holistic View of Carbon Capture & Sequestration
Source: IPCC, 2005
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 17
Carbon Sequestration
Carbon Sequestration Options Under Evaluation:
• Depleted Oil and Gas Reservoirs – a layer of porous rock with a layer of non-porous rock above such that the non-porous layer forms a dome. It is the dome shape that trapped the oil and gas. This same dome offers great potential to trap CO2.
• Unmineable Coal Seams - are too deep or too thin to be mined economically. All coals have varying amounts of methane adsorbed onto pore surfaces, and wells can be drilled into unmineable coalbeds to recover this coalbed methane (CBM). CO2 can be pumped in, and two or three molecules of CO2 are adsorbed for each molecule of methane released, thereby providing an excellent storage sink for CO2.
• Basalt Formations - are geologic formations of solidified lava. Basalt formations have a unique chemical makeup that could potentially convert all of the injected CO2 to a solid mineral form, thus isolating it from the atmosphere permanently.
Source: DOE-NETL
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 18
• Saline formations - are layers of porous rock that are saturated with brine. They are much more commonplace than coal seams or oil- and gas-bearing rock, and represent an enormous potential for CO2 storage capacity. Much less is known about saline formations than is known about crude oil reservoirs and coal seams, and there is greater uncertainty associated with their amenability to CO2 storage.
• Ocean storage: many technical and legal questions…
1. How long can CO2 be stored in the above mentioned scenarios?
2. Who “owns” the pore space in the ground? Legal differences from oil and mineral rights? Limited/no national or international laws.
3. Impacts on groundwater and ocean ecosystem?
Carbon Sequestration Source: DOE-NETL
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 19
Carbon Sequestration Alternatives - Utilization
• No currently practical use of CO2 as a feedstock for chemicals or conventional fuels can make a significant impact on CO2 emissions.
• Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is a current use for CO2, but can be practiced only in specific locations and total storage capacity is small.
• Emerging, longer-term solution for CO2 utilization as a feedstock include algae-based biofuels and solar (photocatalytic) fuels.
Photo from Popular Mechanics: http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/4213775.html
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 20
Latest R&D Advances
Snapshots from the ARPA-E Portfolio
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 21
ARPA-E IMPACT Projects/Performers
• Inertial CO2 Extraction System (ICES) Using Solid (Sublimed) CO2 Precipitation via Supersonic Expansion and Swirling Flow Separation [ATK Defense Contractor & ACEnT Labs]
• Weathering Silicate Minerals (Mg3Si2O5OH4) as Low Cost Source of Chemical Catalysts (Mg2+) for CO2 Fixation via Carbonation (MgCO3) [Columbia Univ, Sandia Nat Lab, Reaction Eng Int]
• Phase-Changing Aminosilicate and Organic Liquid Amine Absorbents for Direct Gas to Solid CO2 Capture/Sequestration [GE, Univ Pitt]
• Electrochemically-Mediated Quinoid Redox Active Carriers for Low Energy (Isothermal) CO2 Capture [MIT, Siemens]
• Phase-Changing (Solid-to-Liquid) Ionic Liquid (IL) Sorbents for Low Energy (via Phase Change Recovery) CO2 Capture [Univ Notre Dame]
• Non-Aqueous CO2-Binding Organic Liquid Solvents for Dramatic Reduction of Parasitic Energy Load for Regeneration [RTI]
• Cryogenic Carbon Capture via Staged Flue Gas Compression and Component Condensation [SES, Air Liquide, GE, BYU]
• Hybrid Liquid Solvent/Membrane CO2 Capture for Reduced Energy & Solvent Loss [Univ KY]
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 22
Georgia Tech R&D Advances
Portfolio Overview & Examples
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 23
The CO2 Separations Portfolio: Near-Term Options
– CO2 Capture from Low Concentration Sources (e.g., Flue Gas) – Profs Jones, Koros, Chance, Sholl, Realff, Fan, Eckert, Liotta, Fedorov
• New sorbent-based separation concepts (materials and contacting systems)• Fundamental materials design and modeling • Comprehensive systems analysis
– CO2 Capture from High Concentration Sources (e.g., Natural Gas) – Profs Koros, Chance, Jones, Nair, Sholl, Fedorov
• Hybrid membrane and sorbent materials• Inorganic membranes
– CO2 Capture from the Atmosphere – Profs Jones, Koros, Chance
• Air capture, if economic, can be implemented anywhere and is not tied to point sources.
– Current Partners • Siemens & GE Energy (Power generation with CO2 Capture /Sequestration)• Air Liquide (membrane/sorbent production for gas separations)• DOE-NETL, ARPA-E, NSF (CO2 capture)• King Abdullah University of Science and Technology-Saudi Arabia (CO2 Capture)• ExxonMobil, Chevron, Conoco Phillips (CO2 Capture/Separation)
Georgia Tech has a world-leading R&D program in CO2 management
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 24
Georgia Tech is developing alternatives to the expensive liquid amine scrubbing step:
1. Solid adsorbents
2. Novel contactors
Preliminary economic analysis suggests thatnew GT technologiescould cut CO2 capture costs by 50%.
Near-Term Focus: Post-Combustion CO2 Capture
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 25
Bore fed cooling water
Clean N2
Flue gas in
Modules with millions of hollow fibers can provide the equivalent of 2 foot ball fields of contact area in a volume the size of a standard office desk --very compact !!
Thermally-moderated uptake fiber walls
Clean N2 outFlue gas with CO2 in
CO2
cooling water in fiber bore
Thermally-driven removal from fiber walls
CO2
Bore fed steam
Bore fed cooling water
Clean N2
Flue gas in
CO2
Bore fed steam
Rapid cycling
GT Hollow Fiber Sorbents for Low-Cost Post Combustion CO2 Capture(Profs. Koros & Chance)
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 26
GT New Solid Adsorbent Material: Hyperbranched Aminosilica (HAS)(Prof. Jones)
Minimal cost is the key driver: simple amine adsorbents via an easily scalable synthesis.
O
HN
N
NHN
H2N
H2NNH2
SiO2
OH OHOH
SiO2
OH O
HN
N
NHN
H2NNH2
NH2
HN
O
HN
NH2
OH
aziridine+ Toluene, Acetic acid
• Hyperbranching polymerization of aziridine on/in mesoporous silica.
• Largest regenerable CO2 capacity of any low temperature adsorbent!
Hicks, Drese, Fauth, Gray, Qi, Jones, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 2902.& Hicks, Fauth, Gray, Jones, 2006, US Patent App.
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 27
GT New Reversible Molecular-Ionic Liquid Solvents to Replace MEA GT New Reversible Molecular-Ionic Liquid Solvents to Replace MEA (Profs. Eckert, Liotta) (Profs. Eckert, Liotta)
0
50
100
150
200
250
Co
nd
uc
tiv
ity
(uS
/cm
)
Cycle
Uptake of Bubbled CO2
Regeneration by heating
Si NH2
R
R
R + CO2
- CO2
Si NH
R
R
R O
O
SiH3NR
RR
1 2 3
• Absorbs CO2 at ambient T and P
• Releases CO2 with inert gas sparge or higher T• Completely recyclable
Key advantages over MEAs
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 28
Reversible ML-IL Liquid Solvents - Reversible ML-IL Liquid Solvents - Utilizing Dual Capture MechanismProfs. Eckert, Liotta
IonicLiquid
+ CO2CO2
Swollen Ionic Liquid
CO2 Swollen
Ionic Liquid
Highly Selective Chemical Absorption
Si NH2
R
R
R + CO2
- CO2
Si NH
R
R
R O
O
SiH3NR
RR
Added Capacity By Physical Absorption
- CO2
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 29
Cost Savings
1. Minimize solvent amount (~50% less) and energy needs2. Optimize ΔT and ΔHrxn to achieve highest uptake with least energy for regeneration 3. Take advantage of both physisorption and chemi-sorption for increased uptake
Reversible ML-IL Solvents - Advantages for CO2 CaptureProfs. Eckert, Liotta
HeatExchanger
Flue Gas
Scrubbed Gas
CO2-RichSolvent
CO2-LeanSolvent
CO2 Product Gas
Energy Penalty
Q = mCpΔT +
ΔHrxn (regen.)
Typical Conditions: P = Ambient from Tlow = 40-50°C to Thigh = 70-100°C
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 30
Summary
• A carbon-constrained world will require a reduction in CO2 emissions coinciding with an increased energy demand.
• Carbon capture and sequestration technologies must be developed to facilitate transition to sustainability, as the world will continue to rely on fossil fuels for the foreseeable future.
• A portfolio of new ideas and technologies for CO2 capture and sequestration has been growing at leading universities and companies with recent significant support from ARPA-E.
• The big questions remains – if successful, can any of these technologies be cost-effective and scalable to the TW level???
• Balance of plant technologies for CO2 capture have been unjustly neglected and may become the key barrier to scale-up!
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 32
Georgia Tech R&D Advances
Additional Emerging Technologies forCO2 Management
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 33
CO2-capture from natural gas reservesUS companies (e.g. ExxonMobil) own large natural gas fields that are contaminated with high levels of CO2. These fields could produce billions of dollars of natural gas if the CO2 can readily be removed and reinjected.
No current technology can achieve this chemical separation in an economical manner. High performance membranes could revolutionize this market. Membranes from this market could also play a key role in other CO2 separations.
Metal-organic frameworks: novel chemical building blocks for rationally designed porous materials
Carbon nanotubes: a nanotechnology approach to creating high throughput membranes
Work at GT by Prof. David Sholl and Prof. Sankar Nair is combining high performance computational methods and practical device fabrication to develop “game changing” materials for large-volume gas separations (Industrial partners: ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips).
Zeolites: versatile inorganicporous materials for harshchemical environments
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 34
Metal Film
H2
HH
H
H
H H
H
H
H
H
HH2
H2
H2
H2
H2
CO2
43
2
1
Hydrogen membranes will play a key role in deploying gasification with carbon capture
Recent work at GT by Prof. David Sholl has shown that using glassy metals increase performance of membranes by 10-100 times compared to conventional materials
GT Metal/Metal-Alloy Nano-Membanes for H2/CO2 SeparationProfs. Fedorov, Sholl
Prof. Fedorov at GT ME has shown that submicron thick Pd/Ag membranes can support record-high H2 permeation fluxes by controlling material microstructure
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 35
Georgia Tech R&D Advances
Specific Examples of Combustion &
Fuel Processing for CO2 Capture
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 36
Largest university combustion research program in the country
Facility shared by 5 faculty ~70 staff and students
State-of-the-art facilities Ability to simulate conditions (pressure,
temperature) of modern, high efficiency systems Extensive diagnostics and instrumentation
Focus on clean, sustainable energy for power generation and propulsion
Alternative fuels Ultra low emissions combustion concepts
Industrial and Government Partners Extensive industrial support
General Electric Energy, Siemens Energy, Exxon Mobil, Rolls Royce, Conoco-Philips, ….
US Government agencies Department of Energy, National Science
Foundation, Dept. of Defense, NASA, etc.
“CO2-Sensible” Combustion Research at GT: Ben Zinn Lab
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 37
Pre-combustion fuel decarbonization concepts
Carbon removed prior to combustion, producing high H2 fuel stream
Burning high H2 fuels in modern power plants poses numerous practical challenges
Windows
Instrumentation Access Flange
Low CO2 Combustion of Fossil FuelsProf. Lieuwen/AE
Post-combustion carbon capture concepts
Research being performed on oxycombustion processes
Most concepts involve burning fuel in diluted oxygen mixture, and recycling CO2 or steam from combustion products
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 38
Biofuels have widely variable and very different combustion properties Research bis eing performed on “fuel flexibility” to allow adaptation of current
combustion technologies to highly variable gasifier streams
Low CO2 Combustion of Biofuels FuelsProf. Lieuwen/AE
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 39
CO2 Capture and Sequestration
with
Focus on Transportation
as
Transition to Sustainable Energy
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 40
The present carbon-based economy is unsustainable!
Fossil Fuel,Coal, Gas
Distillates(liquid)
Pipeline
Refueling
Ground Transportation:Trucking, Shipping, Trains, etc.
EnergyConversion(IC Engine)
Carbon Economy(current)
CO2 toAtmosphere
Primary Energy Sources Conversion, Distribution, Infrastructure End Use Applications
Carbon Economy of Today
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 41
Electron economy? Hydrogen economy?
Fossil Fuel,Coal, Gas
CO2Sequestered
Hydrogen(gas)
Pipeline
Refueling
Ground Transportation:Trucking, Shipping, Trains,
etc.
EnergyConversion(Fuel Cell)
Hydrogen Economy(Does Not Exist)
Fossil Fuel,Coal, Gas
CO2Sequestered
EnergyConversion
Electron Economy
Grid
Solar, Wind, Nuclear
Solar, Wind, Nuclear
Additional Reading: West & Kreith (2006) “A vision for a secure transportation system without hydrogen or oil”, J. Energy Res. Tech., 128, 236-243.
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 42
Georgia Tech has a world-class program in CO2 Separations Research.
The CO2 Separations Portfolio: Non-Fossil & Long-Term Options
– On-Board CO2 Capture & Recycle for Transportation – Fedorov• Fuel cell vehicles with on-board CO2 capture.
• Synthetic hydrocarbon fuel synthesis using recycled CO2 and only renewable (solar) energy via photocatalysis (“solar fuels”)
CO2 Capture: The Georgia Tech Portfolio
Synthetics(liquid)
Pipeline
Refueling/Collection
Ground Transportation:Trucking, Shipping, Trains, etc.
EnergyConversion(FC w/ CO2
Capture)
Carbon Economy(Sustainable)
CO2 Collected
CO2 Recycled
RenewableEnergy
(Solar, Wind)
H2O
Prof. A. G. [email protected]
Power Management Summit, Oct. 17-18
Slide 43
The Alternative Energy Portfolio: Non-Fossil Energy
- Solar Energy and Photovoltaics– ECE, Chem, ChBE, MSE, ME, Physics
Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics
Center of Excellence in Photovoltaic Research and Education
- Biofuels - ChBE, Chem, ME, AE, ISyE
Chevron Biofuels Program – Strategic Energy Institute
DOE Bioenergy Science Center (with ORNL, Tennessee, UGA, Dartmouth, others)
- Nuclear Energy – ME, Chem
- Hydrogen Energy – ChBE, MSE, AE, GTRI, Chem, ME, Physics
Center for Innovative Fuel Cell and Battery Technology
- Wind Energy – ME, Physics, AE, GTRI
Coastal wind farms (GT-Savannah)
Alternative Energy: The Georgia Tech Portfolio