Masdar has announced its collaboration with RTI International, an independent non-profit research institute, on a high potential carbon capture technology research project set to transform the carbon capture and storage (CCS) space.
The project will examine the use of solid sorbent technology for the capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) from coal and gas-fired power station flue gases, targeting a significant cost reduction in carbon dioxide capture over the best available technology today.
The US Department of Energy (DoE) and Masdar are co-funding the innovative research in an agreement that sees Masdar provide an additional US$0.7mn in funding to the US Department of Energy's core US$3mn budget.
Clean fossil fuel
Bader Al Lamki, Associate Director of Masdar Carbon,explained: "Masdar Carbon is committed to the innovation and development of clean fossil fuel technologies aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissionsboth locally and globally. We are excited to work with RTI International and the US Department of Energy on this innovative project which has the potential to revolutionize both the economics and technology of CCS practices."
In addition, Masdar Institute is working with RTI International to extend the research scope into the technology's application forgas-fired power station flue gases.
David Myers, Vice-President of RTI's Engineering and Technology Unit, remarked: "The process technology is at a mature stage and initial sorbent tests indicate very positive results. We appreciate the confidence that Masdar and the US Department of Energy have in our research capability and look forward to a mutually beneficial working relationship."
Participants
Additional project participants include Pennsylvania State University, who bring the novel sorbent material to the project, Süd-Chemie Inc., who will produce the sorbent for large-scale testing, and Foster Wheeler USA, who will provide a technology assessment and engineering expertise.
Carbon capture and storage technology
The project will strengthen the wider strategic cooperation agreement between the US Department of Energy (DoE) and Masdar. The DoE and Masdar signed an MOU in 2010 aimed at establishing a framework for mutually beneficial energy cooperation and various forms of collaboration in eight different areas including carbon capture technologies.
RTI International has been a research partner of the DoE for over 25 years, with about 11 years of work in the field of carbon capture through a dedicated research and development team.
Carbon capture and storage technology aims to capture carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere during the combustion of fossil fuels for power production or other industrial purposes. The captured carbon dioxide can then be transported via pipelines and sequestered in deep geological formations.
