NETL manages a vast portfolio of carbon capture research and development (R&D) projects that are successfully reducing costs to ensure the availability of clean, reliable and affordable energy from America’s abundant domestic resources.

In 2007, the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found that current and projected atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations.  Carbon capture technologies reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere by capturing carbon dioxide from fossil energy-fueled power plants; however, existing technologies add additional costs for industry and consumers. NETL is leveraging cutting-edge research facilities, world-class technical expertise and strategic collaborations to develop efficient and economical solutions that make carbon capture technology viable for decades to come.

NETL is releasing a series of eight infographics that explain the structure of the Carbon Capture Program, illustrate its impact and highlight the achievements of notable projects. Three infographics are available now, with more coming soon.

The first infographic in the series explains the structure and processes that guide NETL’s Carbon Capture Program for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy. Researchers are investigating the use of solvents, sorbents, membranes and novel concepts for pre- and post-combustion carbon capture technologies. Pre-combustion technologies are reserved for gasification-based power generation or the production of fuels and chemicals, while post-combustion options are applicable to the majority of electricity generation operations worldwide.

A second infographic summarizes key research achievements and lists 15 NETL-sponsored technologies that successfully advanced from lab-scale to pilot-scale testing. The Carbon Capture Program supported more than 180 second-generation R&D projects that have cut the cost of carbon capture by nearly 50 percent and reduced the energy penalty — the amount of generated energy used by carbon capture technologies — by nearly 20 percent.

The third infographic in the series highlights a collaborative project with ION Engineering to develop a water-lean solvent for post-combustion carbon capture. More than 2,750 hours of large pilot-scale testing captured more than 14,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, demonstrating enhanced performance and lower energy requirements to cut capital and operating costs.

Click here to access all the infographics released to date.