Carbon Capture and Storage – CCS
CCS is a technology whereby CO2 is captured from exhaust gases of fuel combustion, transported, most often through pipelines to a place of disposal, and finally stored under the ground, e.g. in disused mines.One can distinguish five different categories of CO2 separation from technological processes:
1. CO2 separation out of the exhaust gases from fossil fuel fired boilers in power plants,
2. CO2 separation out of the gaseous fuel or syngas before combustion takes place,
3. Fuel combustion in oxygen instead of air with CO2 or water steam recirculation – the so-called oxy-fuel technology,
4. C arbon separation out of the fuel before the combustion takes place – the so called Hydrocarb process,
5. C O2 separation with the use of fuel cells.
All these processes aim to increase the CO2 content in the separated gases. CO2 separation can be achieved through the use of: absorption, adsorption, membrane separation or by cryogenic methods. The choice of technology depends on many factors: on process conditions, on the kind of fuel used, and on the chemical composition or CO2 partial pressure of the treated gases.
CCS technology is becoming more and more popular, mainly because of the issue of climate change. However, until now, not many CCS projects have been realised. In Poland there have been no CCS projects so far, but according to information from the “Virtual New Industry” news provider, there are currently four CCS projects in the pipeline of the Polish Ministry of Economy:
- Power plant Bełchatów – CO2 removal installation for the 858 MW unit,
- Power plant Bełchatów – CO2 removal installation for the 950 MW IGCC unit. This unit will be fuelled with coal,
- Heat and power plant Bielsko Północ (EC2) – zero emission heat and power plant of PKE (Południowy Koncern Energetyczny – Southern Energy Concern),
Poligeneration power plant with CO2 removal installation - common project of two energy producers: the heat and power plant of the Nitrogen Plant Kędzierzyn and power plant Blachownia (PKE).
Through applying CCS technologies we do not let the CO2 resulting from fuel combustion and industry processes be released to the atmosphere. Although the big hope that it will become a remedy for climate change, some problems are associated with this technology and it should be mentioned that CCS technology is still in the very early stages of development. There is a big area of uncertainty concerning the potential and efficiency of its wider application.
At present, decreasing use of fossil fuels by means of energy savings, rational use of energy and use of renewable energy sources wherever it is possible and economically viable, are the safest and most efficient ways of reducing CO2 emissions.
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