Capturing CO2 in the IGCC Process

Coal is the most abundant and cheapest fossil fuel in existence. At the same
time, it is the most concentrated source of CO2, with its largest point source
being coal power plants. As such, the most effective way to prevent global
warming while maintaining coal as an energy source is to capture CO2 right at
the plant. Integrated gasification combined cycle with carbon capture and
sequestration (IGCC/CSS) is one of the most promising routes to fulfill this
goal. However, the current solvent-based CO2 capture process needs to operate
at a fairly low temperature. This significantly decreases the overall energy
efficiency of plant since the gas stream must be cooled, captured, then
reheated. Zan Liu is working on finding a solid material to capture CO2 at the
preexisting warm temperature of IGCC plants. He has tried to explore new
sorbent materials using a custom-built sorption apparatus and has found one
promising candidate material. A multi-bed pressure swing adsorption (PSA)
process has also been simulated to study the effectiveness of the
material. The application of the material and PSA process will potentially increase
the energy efficiency of IGCC power plants and diminish the impact of coal plants
on global warming.