Result of the 60 tpd CO2 capture pilot plant in European coal power plant with KS-1TM solvent

Abstract Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), in collaboration with Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (KEPCO), has developed and is continuing to improve upon an energy efficient chemical absorbent CO 2 recovery process called the KM CDR Process TM that utilizes the energy-saving CO 2 absorbent KS-1 TM solvent. Long term, highly successful RD in the majority of the CO 2 recovery plants, CO 2 is stripped from natural gas fired steam reformer flue gas and used as a feedstock which reacts with ammonia to produce urea. To ensure that the KM CDR Process TM and KS-1 TM solvent could also be used in an environmental capacity for CCS application, the impacts of coal fired flue gas on the KM CDR TM process needed to be investigated. MHI constructed a 10 tpd demonstration plant at the Matsushima power station and operated it for more than 6,000 hours until concluding the successful test in 2008. The results and knowhow gained from the Matsushima test led to the construction and operation of the world's largest coal fired flue gas carbon capture plant in Alabama, USA. Southern Company 500 tpd plant began operation in June 2011 at Alabama Power's Plant Barry; the project became the world's first fully integrated black coal CCS project when SECARB began CO 2 injection in August, 2012. MHI is continuing with numerous RD maximum flue gas flow of 12,000 Nm 3 /h, CO 2 content range of 11 to 13 vol% with the flue gas pre-treated to remove SOx via wet electro filters. The pilot plant absorber column is 46m high and 1.5m in diameter, including 3 structured packing beds and a washing section. The test program aim was to optimize operation using KS-1 TM , while monitoring and minimising amine emissions. Several parameters such as solvent concentration, regenerator pressure, packing height within the absorber and stripper were adjusted with a constant CO 2 capture rate to determine the optimum points. The MHI test results, utilizing KS-1 TM were directly compared to the pilot plant operation benchmark, 30 wt% monoethanolamine (MEA). The results showed that when compared to the benchmark, KS-1 TM required considerably less specific energy, had better tolerance to oxygen and significantly lower amine emissions.