The DECARBit project - enabling technologies for pre-combustion CCS power plants

摘要

DECARBit, short for "Decarbonise it", targets to reduce the energy penalty associated with the separation of CO_2 and oxygen for pre-combustion type of applications or similar industrial processes. The project seek to explore and further develop advanced technologies considered to have a great potential such as high pressure and high temperature CO_2 separation using membranes, sorbents or solvents and oxygen separation developing new advanced cryogenic and non-cryogenic techniques. DECARBit also investigates hydrogen combustion and combustion systems for gas turbine applications targeting low emissions and high efficiency. The DECARBit project was launched in January 2008 as a large scale integrating project under the 7th Framework Programme of the EU with duration of 4 years and a budget of 15 million Euros. The project constitutes 16 core partners from 8 countries and an industrial contact group of 5 large energy companies in order to ensure industrial interest and involvement from technology end users. A two phased approach is adopted in the project execution. After 2 years 2-3 of the most promising technologies will be taken to pilot testing after screening of the results achieved in the first phase. This means that during the second phase of the project, DECARBit will test the most promising of the CO_2 separation technologies, oxygen separation technologies and low emission hydrogen combustion technologies in pilots. The main achievements obtained during the first year of DECARBit are: - The European Benchmark Task Force (EBTF) has been established, developing a Common Framework Definition Document. This work will establish a common framework for benchmarking the technical and economical performance and applicability of novel CCS technologies, not possible in the investigation of each one separately. - Research on sorbent based oxygen production has resulted in two classes of materials demonstrating promising oxygen transfer capacities. The results represent a 2-6 fold gain compared to the best known materials. - By numerical validation of high pressure, high temperature hydrogen rich combustion a best suited chemical kinetic mechanism has been chosen. Further, a high resolution mixing model, the Linear Eddy Model, has been verified against detailed experimental data with good results. Both detailed description of the gas mixing and the chemical kinetics is essential to perform reliable numerical simulations of premixed gas turbine hydrogen combustion. The paper outlines the main features of DECARBit, and presents major findings so far in light of the state of the art.