JV Task 106 - Feasibility of CO2 Capture Technologies for Existing North Dakota Lignite-Fired Pulverized Coal Boilers. Final Report for the Period of July 7, 2006-December 31, 2006.
The goal of this project is to provide a technical review and evaluation of various carbon dioxide (CO2) capture technologies, with a focus on the applicability to lignite-fired facilities within North Dakota. The motivation for the project came from the Lignite Energy Councils (LECs) need to identify the feasibility of CO2 capture technologies for existing North Dakota lignite-fired, pulverized coal (pc) power plants. A literature review was completed to determine the commercially available technologies as well as to identify emerging CO2 capture technologies that are currently in the research or demonstration phase. The literature review revealed few commercially available technologies for a coal-fired power plant. CO2 separation and capture using amine scrubbing have been performed for several years in industry and could be applied to an existing pc-fired power plant. Other promising technologies do exist, but many are still in the research and demonstration phases. Oxyfuel combustion, a technology that has been used in industry for several years to increase boiler efficiency, is in the process of being tailored for CO2 separation and capture. These two technologies were chosen for evaluation for CO2 separation and capture from coal-fired power plants. Although oxyfuel combustion is still in the pilot-scale demonstration phase, it was chosen to be evaluated at LECs request because it is one of the most promising emerging technologies. As part of the evaluation of the two chosen technologies, a conceptual design, a mass and energy balance, and an economic evaluation were completed.