Capturing CO2 from Exhaust Gas

Capturing CO2 from Exhaust Gas

Program:
IMPACCT
Award:
$5,297,254
Location:
Orem, Utah
Status:
ALUMNI
Project Term:
07/14/2010 - 03/31/2015
Website:

Critical Need:

Coal-fired power plants provide nearly 50% of all electricity in the U.S. While coal is a cheap and abundant natural resource, its continued use contributes to rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere. Capturing and storing this CO2 would reduce atmospheric greenhouse gas levels while allowing power plants to continue using inexpensive coal. Carbon capture and storage represents a significant cost to power plants that must retrofit their existing facilities to accommodate new technologies. Reducing these costs is the primary objective of ARPA-E's carbon capture program.

Project Innovation + Advantages:

Sustainable Energy Solutions (SES) is developing a process to capture CO2 from the exhaust gas of coal-fired power plants by desublimation—the conversion of a gas to a solid. Capturing CO2 as a solid and delivering it as a liquid avoids the large energy cost of CO2 gas compression. SES' capture technology facilitates the prudent use of available energy resources; coal is our most abundant energy resource and is an excellent fuel for baseline power production. SES capture technology can capture 99% of the CO2 emissions in addition to a wide range of other pollutants more efficiently and at lower costs than existing capture technologies. SES' capture technology can be readily added to our existing energy infrastructure.

Potential Impact:

If successful, SES' process will enable coal-fired power plants to produce low-cost, carbon-neutral, on-demand electricity while positioning the U.S. as a global leader in the carbon capture industry.

Security:

Enabling continued use of domestic coal for electricity generation will preserve the stability of the electric grid.

Environment:

Carbon capture technology could prevent more than 800 million tons of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere each year.

Economy:

Enabling cost-effective carbon capture systems could accelerate their adoption at existing power plants.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. James Klausner
Project Contact:
Mr. Larry Baxter
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
l.baxter@sesinnovation.com

Partners

Brigham Young University
General Electric
American Air Liquide

Related Projects

• Alliant Techsystems (ATK) - Supersonic Technology for CO2 Capture
• Codexis - Better Enzymes for Carbon Capture
• Columbia University - Chemically Accelerated Carbon Mineralization
• General Electric (GE) Global Research - CO2 Capture with Liquid-to-Solid Absorbents
• Georgia Tech Research Corporation - Composite Membranes for CO2 Capture
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) - Synthetic Catalysts for CO2 Storage
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - CO2 Capture Using Electrical Energy
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) - High Surface-Area CO2 Sponge
• Research Triangle Institute (RTI) - CO2 Capture and Regeneration at Low Temperatures
• Sustainable Energy Solutions (SES) - Capturing CO2 from Exhaust Gas
• Texas A&M University - Stimuli-Responsive Metal Organic Frameworks
• University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) - Metal Organic Framework Research
• University of Colorado, Boulder (CU-Boulder) - Gelled Ionic Liquid-Based Membranes
• University of Kentucky - Hybrid Solvent-Membrane CO2 Capture
• University of Notre Dame - Phase-Changing Ionic Liquids

Release Date:
04/29/2010