Pre-combustion carbon capture

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Pre-combustion capture

Coal is combined with air
Coal is combined with oxygen or air in the gasifier to produce the synthetic gas 'syngas', which is mainly hydrogen (H2), carbon monoxide (CO) and to a lesser extent carbon dioxide (CO2).
Hydrogen and carbon dioxide are formed
The CO present in the mixture is chemically reacted with steam during a 'shift-conversion' stage to form H2 and carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide is seperated
Carbon dioxide is seperated from the hydrogen, compressed and dried for transport.
Electricity is produced
The hydrogen gas is combusted with air, to drive a combined cycle gas turbine. The hot exhaust from the gas turbine is used to generate steam to drive a steam turbine. These turbines both drive generators to produce electricity. The exhaust from the hydrogen combustion is predominantly nitrogen (which is not a greenhouse gas) and water.

By first converting coal to a gas, this technology facilitates the capture of CO₂. It not only enables low-emissions coal-based power generation, it provides a pathway to a future hydrogen economy.

Pre-combustion CO2 capture

Pre-combustion CO₂ capture related to electricity generation is also known as 'integrated gasification combined cycle' (IGCC) with CO₂ capture. It's called 'integrated' because two separate processes are integrated at a single power plant: coal gasification and the power generation 'combined cycle'.

Coal gasification is a technology that has been around for many decades. It involves combining coal with oxygen or air, but not combusting it. The process results in a synthetic gas, also known as ‘syngas’.

This syngas is then converted chemically into separate streams of carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The hydrogen stream is used to generate clean power in highly efficient gas and steam turbines (a “combined cycle” turbine). It can also be used for hydrogen fuel cells.

Lastly, the highly concentrated CO₂ stream is “captured” at the power plant, rather than exhausted through a flue, and is ready for carbon storage.

Learn about pre-combustion capture research in Australia on the ZeroGen Project page.

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