A video demonstrating the post-combustion capture process that captures CO2 from power station flue gases. (4:00)
As part of the Energy Transformed Flagship program and with the assistance of the Australian Federal Government funding through the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (AP6) program, CSIRO Energy Technology has committed significant resources to research on post-combustion capture (PCC).
The CSIRO estimates that PCC can reduce CO2 emissions by more than 85 per cent. The process involves four steps:
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pre-cooling the flue gas
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capturing the CO2 using water-based solvent
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low-temperature stripping the CO2 from the solvent
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compressing and liquefying the stripped CO2 for piping to an underground storage site.
Researchers have already developed a transportable pilot plant that can be coupled to different types of power stations (for example for brown or black-coal-fired) to test different solvents.
For more information, see Post-combustion capture of CO2 emissions from power stations.
