Carbon capture and storage

Greenhouse-gas
emissions are a
threat to the stability
of the environment

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

is among the companies
developing commercial
solutions for environmentally
sustainable use of coal
forpower generation.
But government incentives
for such projects are needed.

High energy prices and intense concerns

about energy security among consuming
governments has generated renewed
political interest in coal because of its
abundance, low production costs and
stability of supply.
But increased use of coal, which produces
more CO2 than other fossil fuels, must
be squared with the need to avert global
warming; growing public and media
engagement with the subject of climate
change has coincided with the warmest
El-Nio year (2006/07) on record in the US
and this has helped reinforce the view that
greenhouse-gas emissions are a threat to the
stability of the environment.

Finding
solutions
by Ronald Mitchell
and Masaki Iijima,
Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries

Carbon capture and storage

Flue-gas
outlet

CO2
Purity: 99.9%

It is now widely believed that capturing CO2 from flue

gases and its injection into geological formations can
contribute significantly to reducing emissions of CO2.
Several solutions allow us to continue using
important fossil fuels such as coal in an economic
and environmentally friendly way. But for these to
be implemented, it is necessary to move past the
preconception that CO2 is a waste gas with no value;
highly purified CO2 is, on the contrary, a valuable
commodity that can be utilised in a number of existing
and developing industries.

cost reduction. Most importantly, it will enable the setting

of incentives for investment on a wider scale.

2
2. Absorber
3 Stripper
3.
(regenerator)

MHIs flue-gas CO2-recovery plant utilises the KS-1

solvent as the CO2 absorbent (see box). Application
of the KS-1 solvent in the Kansai Mitsubishi Carbon
Dioxide Recovery (KM CDR) process leads to mean
low energy consumption and extended solvent life
with near infinitive degradation in comparison to
other amine-based type processes.
The CO2 recovery plant consists of three main
components (see Figure 1): flue-gas cooler; absorber
(CO2 recovery); and stripper (solvent regeneration).
The gaseous, CO2-rich stream is directed to a compression
and dehydration unit prior to pipeline transport and
client delivery. The CO2-rich solvent is collected from the
CO2-recovery unit and directed to the stripper, where it
is subject to steam-stripping, which separates the CO2,
resulting in regeneration of the solvent. The lean solvent
is then reintroduced into the absorber for CO2 absorption
and the process continues within a closed cycle.
Flue-gas cooler unit (Quencher)
The flue-gas temperature is generally too high to feed
directly into the CO2 absorber. Therefore, the hot flue

CW

11. Flue-gas cooler

Flue gas

CW
CW
Reboiler
Steam

Figure 1: Process flow of CO2 recovery, showing the principal equipment components (CW: cooling water).

Courtesy of Xxxxxxx

The next step

Widespread implementation of CCS depends on the
provision of appropriate government incentives and the
advancement of large-scale demonstration projects. Since
1990, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has been involved
in research and development relating to CO2 capture
from flue-gas streams of fossil fuel-fired power stations.
In parallel, it has developed commercial applications of
CO2 capture using natural gas-fired boilers and steam
reformers. The next step is to apply this proved and
trusted technology process to a large-scale CO2-capture
demonstration plant utilising a coal-fired boiler. This will
lead to greater familiarity with the larger-scale effects and
efficiencies of CCS, and insights into risk mitigation and

Carbon capture and storage

Widespread implementation of CCS

depends on government incentives
and the advancement of large-scale
demonstration projects

Carbon capture and storage

gas is cooled by the flue-gas water cooler (FGWC)

before entering the CO2 absorber. Lower flue-gas
temperatures are preferred to increase the efficiency
of the exothermic CO2-absorption reaction and to
minimise KS-1 solvent loss because of gas-phase
equilibrium increases. The optimum temperature range
for CO2 recovery is 35-45C, although this is flexible,
depending on other factors, such as water utility
requirements and availability.
MHIs experience of CO2-capture from thermal power
station flue-gas streams consists of:
Over 4,000 hours of operational experience of a
10 tonnes a day coal-fired demonstration plant
in Matsushima, Japan. This has advanced our
understanding of the effects of coal-fired fluegas-stream impurities and the countermeasures
required in the KM CDR process, which MHI has been
developing in partnership with Kansai Electric Power
since 1990;
Over 16 years of R&D. This includes laboratory,
bench-scale and pilot-scale 2 t/d testing of
MHIs CO2-capture process from natural-gas-fired
flue-gas streams. This has refined the KM-CDR
process and;
Supplying the technology on a commercial scale.
Projects summary:

The FGWC serves two purposes: It is designed and

constructed to cool sufficiently the flue gas through
direct contact with water; and to remove various
impurities, such as SOx, NOx, dust and suspended
particulate matter. The impurity concentrations and
the flue-gas temperature depend on the source of the
flue gas. Clean-burning natural gas typically has low
concentrations of CO2 and impurities, while coal-fired
boiler flue gas usually contains higher concentrations.

Mono ethanol amine-based solvents degrade relatively

rapidly during the CO2-capture process, leading to
high consumption. KS-1 is significantly more resilient.
However, the impurities can react with KS-1 to form heatstable salts (HSS) and other reaction by-products that
reduce the concentration of available solvent for CO2
recovery. Therefore, the flue-gas impurity composition
should be minimised, reducing solvent loss and lessening
the frequency of reclaiming operations.

200 t/d CO capture from a natural-gas

Malaysia:
steam reformer to produce urea. On stream since 1999;
330 t/d CO capture from a natural-gas and
Japan:
oil fired boiler for general-use products. On stream

The FGWC is a tower with a dimensionally structured

packing matrix to minimise pressure loss and reduce
load on the flue-gas blower. The flue gas is introduced
into the bottom section of the tower and it rises upwards
through the structured packing. The cooling water
will be evenly distributed from the top of the packing
material, where the flue gas and the cooling water come
into direct contact facilitating the cooling process.

since2005;

two separate 450 t/d CO2 capture plants

India:
utilising natural gas to produce urea. On stream since
December 2006;

400 t/d CO capture plant utilising natural gas

UAE:
to produce urea. Front-end engineering and design

Carbon capture and storage

The FGWC serves two purposes: It is designed

and constructed to cool sufficiently the
flue gas through direct contact with
water; and to remove various impurities

(Feed) completed, with construction expected to

commence in 2008; and
China: 800 t/d CO2 capture from a natural-gas steam
reformer to produce methanol. Feed completed.
India: 450 t/d CO2 capture from natural gas to
produce urea. Project awarded and due to begin
operation in April 2009.

The 10 t/d coal-fired, CO2-capture

demonstration plant, Matsushima, Japan

CO2 recovery
The CO2 absorber has two main sections the CO2absorption section (bottom section) and the treatedflue-gas washing section (top section). The conditioned
flue gas from the FGWC is introduced into the bottom
section of the CO2 absorber. The flue gas progresses
upward through structured, stainless steel packing
material while KS-1 is distributed evenly from the top of

Carbon capture and storage

the absorption section onto the packing material. The

flue gas comes into direct contact with the KS-1 solvent
at the surface of the packing material, where CO2 in
the flue gas is absorbed into the solvent. The flue gas
then moves upwards into the treated-flue-gas washing
section, in the top section of the CO2 absorber tower. This
section is similar to the FGWC, where the flue gas comes
into direct contact with water to remove vaporised KS-1
solvent and further cool the flue gas to maintain water
balance within the system. The treated flue gas then
exits the top section of the CO2 absorber to the stack.
Meanwhile, the CO2-rich KS-1 solvent (rich solvent) is
collected from the bottom of the absorber and directed
to the CO2-regeneration unit for steam stripping.

The 450 t/d CO2-recovery

plant, Aonla, India

Solvent regeneration
The rich-solution pump transfers rich solvent from the
bottom of the CO2 absorber to the lean/rich solution
exchanger so that the rich solvent can be heated using
the lean solvent from the bottom of the CO2 stripper.
The heated rich solvent is then introduced into the upper
section of the CO2 stripper, where it comes into contact
with stripping steam of around 120C. The rich solvent
is then steam-stripped of its CO2 content through the
packing material of the CO2 stripper and is converted
back into lean solvent. Steam is produced by the
stripper reboiler, which uses LP steam to boil the lean

solvent. The lean solvent at the bottom is then directed

to the lean-solution pump through a lean/rich solution
exchanger. The lean-solution pump forces this lean
solvent to the lean-solution cooler, where it is cooled to
the optimum reaction temperature of about 40C before
being reintroduced to the top of the absorption section
of the CO2 absorber unit.

cheap, stable, abundant and reliable form of energy. The

continued expansion of global carbon markets will lead to
lucrative commodity based trading platforms, which will
further promote clean energy. However, for this situation
to be realised at a global scale, governments must provide
incentives to support the emerging CCS industry.

Solvent-reclaimer unit
A reclaimer unit is required to eliminate HSS from the
solvent. When the HSS content of the solvent has reached
preset limits, the reclaimer must be operated to boil down
the solvent and concentrate the HSS so that it forms a
residue that can be discharged. The expected reclaimeroperation frequency will be extremely low compared with
other types of amine-based solvents. This is because of
the low degradation properties of the KS-1 solvent.
the path forward
MHI is working to provide high quality, reliable and cost
effective technology-based environmental solutions for
industry. CCS is viewed by many experts as a significant
means to reduce anthropogenic CO2 emissions.
The capture of CO2 from the flue gases of powergeneration facilities through the application of advanced
technologies can lead to the continued clean use of
fossil fuels such as coal, which provide countries with a

Carbon capture and storage

highly purified co2 is a valuable

commodity that can be utilised
in a number of existing and
developing industries

ronald mitchell is business-development

manager for MHIs CO2 capture technology.
Masaki Iijima is responsible for MHIs CO2 capture
business worldwide.