CLEANTECH: Membranes for Coal Plants

California gets about 17 percent of its electricity from coal power plants that operate in Western states. Due to concern about global warming, state utilities are required to phase out their reliance on these plants unless their carbon dioxide emissions can be successfully captured and sequestered from the atmosphere. The prospect of phasing out coal power in California and at the national level, where it provides half of all electricity, has set off a scramble to find the best, most economical technologies for capturing CO2 from coal plants and disposing of it underground. One California company--Menlo Park-based Membrane Technology & Research--won a Department of Energy contract July 31 for a $4.4 million project aimed at using membrane technology to capture CO2 at a conventional coal-fired power plant. DOE hopes that if the project and others it funded last month prove successful, they will keep the nation’s existing coal plants working long into the future, while eliminating greenhouse gas emissions. DOE sees membranes as a key way to capture carbon dioxide from the exhaust of coal power plants. Membranes consist of permeable or semi-permeable materials used to separate liquids or gases based on their molecular structure. When it comes to the mix of gases in exhaust, membranes let one gas through to their back side while keeping the others on their front side. Under the DOE contract, Membrane Technology & Research is to make a commercial scale membrane that is capable of capturing one ton a day of CO2 from flue gas produced by a conventional coal-fired power plant. Once built, the membrane module is to be tested for six months. Designing membranes that can stand up to harsh flue gas without being frequently replaced is a key challenge in making the technology economical for use in coal power plants. The gas contains contaminants, such as fly ash and sulfur dioxide, which can degrade the membrane. A final added challenge is that the flue gas has relatively low pressure, that is, little force to drive through the membrane. The means that to make the membrane work it effectively may require use of blowers that siphon energy output from the plant and diminish the CO2 control technology’s economics. Editors’ note: For a more detailed version of this story, please see our sister publication E=MC2 – Energy Meets Climate Challenge. You can find it at www.energymeetsclimate.com

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CLEANTECH: Membranes for Coal Plants

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