The objective of this National Energy Technology Laboratory Office of Research and Development multi-faceted project is to develop carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture systems for coal-based power plants that lower the costs and energy penalty associated with those systems.

Research and development in the capture area is aimed at developing systems that are low in capital cost, have low parasitic load, can reduce CO₂ emissions significantly, and can be integrated within the power generation system.  A majority of the research will occur on laboratory- and bench-scale reactors.  A brief description of the oxy-combustion projects can be found below and additional information is available in the links at the bottom of the page.

Oxy-Combustion Carbon Dioxide Capture Projects

• Materials Performance in Oxy-Combustion Environments
• Oxy-Fired PC Combustion Simulation
• Sensors and Controls Development to Enable Efficient Carbon Capture
• Oxy-Combustion of Fossil Fuels with Carbon Capture
• Advanced Power Systems for Improved Carbon Capture Efficiency
• Chemical Looping Techniques and Advanced Concepts
• Fluidized Bed Chemical Looping Applications
• Chemical Looping for Combustion and Hydrogen Production

Materials Performance in Oxy-Combustion Environments
This project is investigating materials performance of alloys in oxy-combustion environments in order to identify potential material issues which may impact this technology.  A large focus of the project is on ash-assisted corrosion of alloys used in boiler construction for retrofits of existing plants.  The effect of utilizing reformulated gas on the materials used during the coal pulverization process will also be explored.  In particular, high-temperature ash-assisted corrosion of waterwalls and superheaters in low- N₂-fired and air-fired coal combustion environments.  Furthermore, the research will assess the impact of the changing environment on subsequent fire-side corrosion.

Oxy-Fired PC Combustion Simulation
The research under this project is focused on developing and validating multiple scales of computerized fluid dynamic models for oxy-fired, pulverized coal (PC) combustion.  The purpose of this project is to gain an accurate understanding of the heat transfer characteristics of the oxy-fired system and to develop a tool for designing and optimizing such systems.

Sensors and Controls Development to Enable Efficient Carbon Capture
The overall goal of this project is to minimize the cost of an oxy-fuel system by maximizing the efficiency of oxygen (O₂) injection.  This will be accomplished by developing advanced sensors to monitor process variables such as temperature and pressure, and to develop advanced controls to maintain precise O₂ rates.

Oxy-Combustion of Fossil Fuels with Carbon Capture
The purpose of this research is to: (1) develop a better understanding of the oxy-combustion flame, and of heat and mass transfer in oxy-combustion systems; (2) develop an understanding of the character and distribution of ash and slag in oxy-combustion systems; (3) develop solutions for the potential low-pressure steam turbine imbalance in retrofit applications; (4) and support development of improved systems and modeling tools.  This project will provide a means to analyze new and retrofit oxy-combustion plants, to predict performance, and to recommend measures to improve performance. Read More!

Advanced Power Systems for Improved Carbon Capture Efficiency
This project is focused on developing energy conversion approaches that differ from the conventional steam cycle for use in chemical looping combustion plants.  Aspen+ simulations of energy conversion cycles will be conducted to identify potential technologies.

Chemical Looping Techniques and Advanced Concepts
The goal of this project is to develop and test O₂ carriers for use in chemical looping processes.  Several O₂ carriers have been developed thus far, including nickel (II) oxide on bentonite and copper (II) oxide on bentonite. A key focus is determining reaction rate information to be used in the development of system level models of the chemical looping process, as well as detailed computational fluid dynamics simulations of the process.

Fluidized Bed Chemical Looping Applications
This project is working to evaluate, develop, and improve designs for chemical looping process applications using fluidized bed technologies.  The focus of the project is aimed at assessing and improving measurements of the rate of solids flow between various high-temperature reactor vessels.  One such development is an improved optical sensor that can provide cold flow data quality by evaluating the wall effects on the solids flow profile. Read More!

Chemical Looping Combustion and Oxy-Combustion Research
This project's research is focused on producing test data to use with computer models for evaluating flame characteristics, burner and coal-feed design, and the interaction of oxy-combustion products with boiler materials to ensure the development of low-cost and efficient oxy-combustion power plant systems.

Additionally, this project will investigate the use of a metal oxide or other compound as an oxygen carrier to transfer O₂ from the combustion air to the fuel.  This approach prevents direct contact between fuel and combustion air, which keeps the combustion products separate from the rest of the flue gases. Read More!