Novel Application of Carbonate Fuel Cell for Capturing Carbon Dioxide from Flue Gas Streams

Abstract

To address concerns about climate change resulting from emission of CO 2 by coal-fueled power plants, FuelCell Energy, Inc. has developed the Combined Electric Power and Carbon-dioxide Separation (CEPACS) system concept. The CEPACS system utilizes Electrochemical Membrane (ECM) technology derived from the Company’s Direct FuelCell ® products. The system separates the CO 2 from the flue gas of other plants and produces electric power using a supplementary fuel. FCE is currently evaluating the use of ECM to cost effectively separate CO 2 from the flue gas of Pulverized Coal (PC) power plants under a U.S. Department of Energy contract. The overarching objective of the project is to verify that the ECM can achieve at least 90% CO 2 capture from the flue gas with no more than 35% increase in the cost of electricity. The project activities include: 1) laboratory scale operational and performance tests of a membrane assembly, 2) performance tests of the membrane to evaluate the effects of impurities present in the coal plant flue gas, in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 3) techno-economic analysis for an ECM-based CO 2 capture system applied to a 550 MW existing PC plant, in partnership with URS Corporation, and 4) bench scale (11.7 m 2 area) testing of an ECM-based CO 2 separation and purification system.