Post-combustion capture uses chemicals to separate the carbon dioxide in conventional coal-fired power plants following desulphurisation of the flue gas.
It is the only method suitable for retrofitting existing power plants, and so it is particularly valuable to many of our customers.
Widespread penetration of new power plants with integrated CO2 separation will take several more decades due to lengthy investment cycles – 40 years being the norm. In the meantime, however, post-combustion capture serves as an economically feasible and desirable alternative for those customers still wishing to reduce their impact on the environment.
In 2009, Linde will be launching operations at a pilot facility for this process, known as CO2 scrubbing, in collaboration with Badische Anilin- und Sodafabrik (BASF) and Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk (RWE). The facility will be located at the lignite power plant in Niederaußem (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany).
The liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Hammerfest, Norway, built by Linde Engineering, is a further example of CO2 scrubbing and compression.
The energy group Vattenfall Europe is planning to retrofit a power station in Jänschwalde, Germany, with post-combustion capture technology, establishing a CO2-free, lignite-powered pilot facility. Our Engineering Division is producing a feasibility study for this project.
