National Carbon Capture Center teams up with CORMETECH on critical carbon capture testing

The National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) is excited to announce that CORMETECH’s lower-cost transformational technology – designed to capture at least 95% of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the flue gas of natural gas combined-cycle (NGCC) power plants – will be tested at the Center beginning in June of 2024.

The NCCC, located in Wilsonville, Alabama, is managed and operated by Southern Company and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and multiple sponsors. The Center is the DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory’s leading carbon capture research and test facility

Put to the real test

CORMETECH’s new PATHFINDER™ Point-Source Capture (PSC) Integrated Process Demonstration Unit will begin large bench-scale testing and optimization of CORMETECH’S unique, low-cost integrated process technology for PSC utilizing CORMETECH’s proprietary CORAL™ Solid CO₂ Adsorber Technology.

“CORMETECH is proud to be teaming up with Southern Company, Middle River Power and Nooter Eriksen to conduct this important testing. We see this as a significant step in scaling our new technology for use in large NGCC plants,” said Christopher Bertole, Ph.D., Vice President of Product and Applications Development at CORMETECH. “The results of our PATHFINDER testing will enable CORMETECH to honor its mission to deliver innovative products and services that improve air quality and maximize stakeholder value.”

Utilizing a monolithic amine contactor

The CORMETECH team of experts will test a specific technology approach at the NCCC that utilizes a monolithic amine contactor to capture CO₂ from NGCC point sources. 

The monolith (think of a honeycomb structure with tiny flow channels for the flue gas to pass through) has an internal porous structure containing amine (polyethyleneimine), which adsorbs the CO₂ in the flue gas. Later in the process, the CO₂ is desorbed and collected using steam for subsequent storage or use. This process occurs in a modular, multi-bed cyclic process unit that enhances scalability and significantly reduces the cost of carbon capture for large NGCC plants. Emissions source capture is called point-source capture because it involves separating CO₂ from the flue gases emitted by industrial facilities and power plants before it enters the atmosphere.

Thanks to Department of Energy funding

The project is partly funded by a DOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE-NETL) $2.5 million award. The CORMETECH project was among 12 projects awarded a total of $45 million in federal funding to advance point-source carbon capture and storage technologies that can capture at least 95% of CO₂ emissions generated from natural gas power and industrial facilities.

“The NCCC is looking forward to collaborating with CORMETECH’s product developers and extended team of engineers to test this newest point-source capture approach,” said Tony Wu, NCCC Principal Engineer. “It’s always rewarding and challenging to collaborate with fellow innovators all working toward the same goal to accelerate the development and deployment of next-generation carbon reduction technologies for fossil-based power plants.” 

The National Carbon Capture Center is recognized for its groundbreaking work to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil-fueled power plants and industrial sources. The NCCC’s highly specialized team advances emerging technologies from the laboratory through real-world testing, assists in moving carbon management technologies to scale-up, and then helps usher them to successful commercial deployment.

The National Carbon Capture Center engages with teams of technology developers to evaluate technologies related to point-source capture, CO₂conversion and direct air capture to accelerate their development toward commercialization.”...

Read the full news release here