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This technology uses various separation processes to capture a power plant’s CO2 emissions from flue gases. It is well suited for retrofitting to existing power plants.
Post-combustion CO2 capture involves separating CO2 from the gas stream produced by the combustion of coal or other fossil fuels. This type of capture technology is already widely used commercially in the natural gas and oil industries to purify methane and refinery process streams.
The most commonly used process for post-combustion CO2 capture is made possible through special chemicals called amines, including ammonia. A CO2 rich gas stream, such as a power plant’s flue gas, is “bubbled” through an amine solution. The CO2 bonds with the amines as it passes through the solution while other gases continue up through the flue.
The CO2 in the resulting CO2-saturated amine solution is then removed from the amines, “captured” and is ready for carbon storage. The amines themselves can be recycled and re-used.
Whilst post-combustion CO2 capture is technically available now for coal-based power plants, it has not yet been used commercially for large-scale CO2 removal. The main challenge of post-combustion technology development is improving its cost and efficiency. One of its key advantages is that it is well suited to retrofitting to existing plants.
Learn about post-combustion capture research in Australia on the Munmorah PCC Project page.
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