SBIR Phase II: Split Amine Absorbent for CO2 Capture from Post Combustion Flue Gas of Coal Fired Power Plants

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is designed to demonstrate a novel low cost and low energy-consuming CO2 capture technology. The success of CO2 capture and sequestration rely on the development of cost-effective and low energy-consuming CO2 separation system. The process, called Split Amine Absorption, is able to significantly reduce the CO2 capture cost. The Phase II objective is to evaluate the technical and economic viability of the technology for the CO2 capture from flue gas of post combustion coal fired power plants. The approach is to: 1) test previously developed bench-scale models and 2) design and install a prototype pilot scale system and operate, test, collect data, and optimize its performance. The system will be installed as a slipstream unit in an existing coal fired power plant. It will be designed to achieve at least 90% CO2 removal efficiency. The data collected will be used to evaluate the technical and economic viability of the technology.
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is significant cost savings for the reduction of CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants. In comparison with today's state-of-art monoethanolamine (MEA) technology, the proposed technology is able to reduce the cost of CO2 capture by 85%. Reducing this cost is the key to making coal an economically viable and socially acceptable fuel for generating electricity.