Technology for CO2 capture from coal flue gas provided by Regina, Saskatchewan-based HTC Purenergy Inc. is now operational at Scottish and Southern Energy's Ferrybridge Power Station located in West Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
Ferrybridge is the first plant of its size in the U.K., capturing 100 tonnes per day of CO2 at 90 per cent CO2 recovery rate based on five Megawatts Electric (MWe) slipstream from the 2,000 megawatts (MW) coal power station.
Ahmed Aboudheir, HTC's chief technology officer, attended the official opening of the plant. "HTC in conjunction with our partner Doosan Power Systems is proud to have contributed to the Ferrybridge project to provide a cost competitive commercial solution for CO2 capture that will also serve as an industry reference to support the global deployment of CCS," he said.
The project, which is a collaboration between Scottish and Sothern Energy (SSE), U.K.-based Doosan Power Systems and Vattenfall, supported by the Technology Strategy Board, DECC and Northern Way, is the first of its size to be integrated into a live power plant in the U.K. As such, it represents a major step forward in proving that carbon capture technology is viable on a commercial scale.
The plant bridges the gap between the various pilot-scale trials that are underway and the commercial-scale demonstration projects envisaged by the U.K. government, as it captures 100 tonnes of carbon dioxide per day from the equivalent five MW of coal-fired power generating capacity.
SSE chief executive Ian Marchant is keen to stress the significance of Ferrybridge in the broader context of the U.K. energy industry: "The development of viable carbon capture technology is central to the U.K.'s climate change and energy security objectives. We believe projects such as this will be absolutely crucial in establishing when and how the technology can be developed.
"What we have here today at Ferrybridge will provide an invaluable source of reference and learning for the industry as a whole. This pilot project is all about carbon capture on coal, however if we are to be successful in reaching our carbon reduction targets, we also need it on gas, which is why SSE is seeking to develop a larger, commercial scale, demonstration at our Peterhead gas-fired station," Marchant said.
Industry regulators such as the Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive will also be able to learn from the project, enabling the U.K. to move closer to widespread deployment of CCS.
Chris Huhne, MP, secretary of state for Energy and Climate Change, describes the significance of the CCPilot100+ project: "This flagship test program at Ferrybridge represents an important milestone in the U.K.'s plans to develop CCS and provides a critical bridge to meeting our long term aim of cost competitive CCS deployment by the 2020s.
"This is the first operating carbon capture plant attached to a power station at this scale in the U.K. and has benefited from more than £6 million in public money. This investment will be invaluable to the wider commercial scale deployment of CCS by reducing uncertainty, driving down costs and developing the U.K. supply chain and skills," Huhne said.
"This is a pioneering project supporting high skilled jobs here at Ferrybridge," added Local MP, Yvette Cooper. "Developing carbon capture is critical to cutting carbon emissions and this plant, supported by £6 million announced by the last government, could lead the way across the world. This state of the art technology is a vital opportunity for protecting the environment and for developing British science and technology."
"The CCPilot100+ plant which we have designed, built and commissioned using our advanced amine scrubbing technology is an essential step in the optimization and proving of post-combustion capture of CO2, and will be the most significant project of its kind in the U.K.," said Jean-Michel Aubertin, chief executive officer at Doosan Power Systems.
Karl Bergman, vice-president and head of Vattenfall R&D, pointed to the importance of carbon capture to the environment: "The Ferrybridge plant is an important project to Vattenfall as it will give us valuable insights on how CCS can be moved forward, as well as to validate our performance assumptions from an R&D perspective. Vattenfall is convinced that carbon capture is a major mitigation means when facing the challenges of climate change."
HTC Purenergy is an energy company focused on providing commercial engineering solutions to gas processors, oil and natural gas producers and other major industry sectors including companies producing fertilizer, cement, steel, aluminum, thermal power, lime and petro-chemical. HTC's engineering services and products are designed to increase production, reduce operating costs, mitigate risk and manage process impurities. HTC personnel are fully qualified engineers with experience-based expertise and know-how in the energy, petro-chemical and other global industry sectors.