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FY2005 FRED Database Project Description:

Project Information

 

 

Project Title:

Advanced Oxyfuel Boilers and Process Heaters for Cost Effective CO2 Capture and Sequestration

 

Project I.D.:

DE-FC26-01NT41147

 

FE Program:

Carbon Sequestration

 

Research Type:

Basic Research          

 

Funding Memorandum:

Cooperative Agree't (nonCCT) - Tech R&D

 

 

Project Performer

 

 

Performer Type:

Large Business

 

Performer:

Praxair, Inc.

 

Performer Address:

P.O. Box 44                  
175 East Park Drive                              
                                                 

 

Other Project Team Members:

 

 

 

Project Dates

 

 

Project Start Date:

1-Jul-01

 

Project End Date:

31-Dec-05

 

 

Project Location

 

 

City:

Tonawanda

 

State:

NY

 

ZIP Code:

14151-0044

 

Congressional District:

28

 

Responsible FE Site:

NETL

 

 

Project Contact

 

 

Name:

Sirman, John

 

Telephone:

(716) 879-2394

 

Fax Number:

         

 

Email Address:

 

 

 

DOE/FE Contact

 

 

Name:

Fout, Timothy

 

Telephone Number:

(304) 285-1341

 

Site Location:

NETL

 

Email Address:

timothy.fout@netl.doe.gov

 

 

Cost & Funding Info.

 

 

Total Estimated Cost:

$5,564,765

 

DOE Share:

$3,895,335

 

Non-DOE Share:

$1,669,430

 

 

Project Description

 

 

Project Description:

The primary objective of this program is to develop a novel oxy-fuel boiler that will significantly reduce the complexity of CO2 capture; reduce the cost of carbon sequestration to less than $10/ton; and offer increased thermal efficiency and reduced pollution emissions.  This highly efficient boiler will economically provide a significant portion of the required reductions in greenhouse gases prior to 2025.

 

Project Background:

Reducing CO2 from large stationary combustion systems has been targeted as the most efficient means to reduce greenhouse emissions from fossil fuel combustion systems.  A number of concepts exist or have been proposed to reduce emissions; including fuel switching; efficiency improvements; CO2 capture from conventional flue gas streams; and oxy-fuel fired systems with CO2 capture.  Switching fuels from coal to lower carbon fuels such as natural gas can reduce emissions; but severely restricts the nation's fuel flexibility and underutilizes a valuable natural resource in the US.  Enhancing site efficiency by buiding natural gas combined cycle plants or making efficiency oriented plant modifications can also significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.  However; these options simply do not provide enough reduction in emissions to mitigate the growing problem of global warming.



Another mitigation strategy that has been proposed is removal of CO2 from conventional flue gas streams.  Although the concept of CO2 recovery from flue gas is not new; serious drawbacks with conventional systems limit implementation of the technology to curb CO2 emissions.  The projected requirements for advanced technologies are still expected to range from 9% to 15% of plant generating capacity.  The capital costs can be significant due to the need for large reaction and recovery trains.  Two of the primary reasons for these problems are the low concentration of CO2 and relatively high oxygen concentration in the flue gas.



One way to overcome these problems is to switch to oxy-fuel combustion.  Use of oxygen in place of air creates a much lower volume of flue gas; which enhances thermal efficiency; thereby directly lowering CO2 emissions.  Since the flue gas consists of primarily CO2 and water; separation and purification are also greatly simplified.  These advantages have lead several groups to explore oxy-fuel based boilers to enhance the boiler efficiencies and CO2 recovery.

 

Project Accomplishments:

[NOTE: Updated information not available beginning 2004]

06-Dec-01:
Accomplishment: Kick-off meeting                                                                                   
Description: Greenhouse Gas Kick-off Meeting held at NETL.  On Thursday, December 6, Praxair Incorporated held a kick-off meeting at NETL.  Praxair's project, Advanced Oxyfuel Boilers and Process Heaters for Cost-Effective CO2 Capture and Sequestration" was awarded under the program solicitation

01-Aug-02:
Accomplishment: Advanced Boiler Conceptual Designs Completed                                                       
Description: Approximately ten advanced boiler conceptual designs have been proposed to-date, broadly classified as either reactive or inert purge.  Reactive purge designs directly expose the membrane to combustible fuel species, while inert purge designs only expose the membrane to the flue gas.  Quantitative evaluations of the overall heat and mass balances for these concepts are ongoing.  To aid in the evaluation of these conceptual designs, a spreadsheet-based model has been developed to estimate radiative heat fluxes for various advanced boiler geometries and operating conditions.  A robust gas emissivity estimator was also developed to increase the flexibility and utility of the model.

30-Sep-02:
Accomplishment: OTM Development Materials Selected                                                                 
Description: Oxygen transport membrane (OTM) development work has recently commenced.   Four OTM (oxygen transport membrane) materials, designated PXAB2,  PXAB4, PBAX5 and PXAB6, have been selected for evaluation in the advanced boiler application.  PXAB2 shall be used primarily as a benchmark.  Powders of these compositions are currently being manufactured at Praxair Specialty Ceramics in Seattle, and OTM tube manufacture is set to commence when the powder arrives at the Praxair Technology Center in Tonawanda, NY.

 

 

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