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Gas Technology Institute (GTI) and Clean Carbon Solutions Ltd. (CCSL) will develop and validate a transformational carbon dioxide ( CO2) capture technology (ROTA-CAP) using novel rotating packed bed (RPB) absorbers and regenerators combined with an advanced solvent. The RPB contactor design comprises a rotating disk of packing material that generates a high gravity centrifugal force, which distributes solvent radially toward the outer edge of the disk, providing a high surface area for mass transfer to occur as countercurrent flue gas contacts the solvent droplets. An integrated absorber-regenerator bench-scale test skid for the ROTA-CAP system will be designed, constructed, and operated at GTI using simulated flue gas and natural gas burner flue gas to determine key operating parameters. CCSL will provide an advanced solvent for the test, such as its proprietary amine-promoted buffer salt (APBS) solvent. The test skid will also include a conventional tower absorber and regenerator to compare the performance of ROTA-CAP to the conventional process using commercial monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent. Long-term (1,000-hour) stability testing of the integrated ROTA-CAP CO2 capture system will be conducted on a coal-fired flue gas slipstream at the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) at a scale of 1 tonne CO2 per day and the collected data will be used to determine solvent degradation and aerosol formation. A simulation process model will be developed for integrated RPB carbon capture systems and will be used to aid in larger-scale deployment of the ROTA-CAP technology, such as integration with coal-fired power plants. A high-level techno-economic analysis of the process will be performed based on experimental data and the capture process model verified with the long-term operation data.
The RPB technology offers size reductions in the absorber and regenerator relative to conventional columns, resulting in lower capital costs. The use of a highly concentrated solvent, such as CCSL’s APBS solvent, reduces the regeneration energy and leads to greater process efficiency. Implementation of the ROTA-CAP technology in a carbon capture process with an advanced solvent will work toward the goal of reducing the capital and operating expenditures to meet or exceed the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) targets for post-combustion CO2 capture from a coal-fired power plant with 95 percent CO2 purity and a cost of electricity (COE) at least 30 percent lower than baseline capture approaches or approximately $30 per tonne of CO2 by 2030.
