New technology removes 1,000 kg of CO2 per day in Poland: EU

A study published by the European Union (EU) on Wednesday showed that a new mobile carbon capture technology can remove 1,000 kg of CO2 a day from a Polish coal power plant.

Scientists said power plants are a major source of CO2 emissions and contributor to global warming. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies can reduce emissions from power plants by capturing the CO2 and safely storing it.

However, these technologies can be expensive due to the large amounts of energy they require to operate.

A Polish researcher has trialed a technology -- a carbon capture plant that removes CO2 via chemical absorption -- in a coal-fired power plant in Poland, which requires less energy.

The plant was transported and connected to TAURON's Laziska Power Plant in Poland in 2013, where 550 hours of tests were conducted using the solvent monoethanolamine (MEA), a baseline solvent suitable for extended comparisons.

During testing, over 90 percent of CO2 was removed from the flue gases and in excess of 19,000 kg of CO2 was captured at a rate of approximately 1,000 kg per day.

The pilot plant was designed, erected and operated by the Polish Institute for Chemical Processing of Coal in collaboration with an industrial partner, TAURON. The plant absorbs CO2 using a chemical (amine-based) solvent.

The authors said this technology was the most effective for coal-fired power plants and can be implemented with existing units. Endit