Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
8/29/2014
The Industrial Technology Research Institute has developed a technology capable of using calcium as an absorbent in the carbon capture process. The High Efficiency Calcium Looping Technology (HECLOT) is inexpensive and efficient, according to a fact sheet provided to GHG Monitor by ITRI this week. According to the fact sheet, “HECLOT uses calcium from cheap limestone (CaCO3) as carbon capture medium. Calcium is looped between two chemical reactions involving [calcium oxide] CaO and [calcium carbonate] CaCO3 to capture and release [carbon dioxide] CO2. In the capture, or carbonation reaction, calcium in CaO captures CO2 and becomes CaCO3. In the second reaction, so called calcination reaction, CaCO3 is reduced back to CaO, and CO2 absorbed in the first reaction is released at high purity in the second reaction. By looping between these two reactions, CO2 can be collected and then put away.” Taiwan Cement is currently working to develop the largest calcium looping pilot plant in the world, which, when completed, will capture one ton of carbon an hour, according to an ITRI press release.
Developers of the technology are attempting to get ahead of future carbon mitigation efforts and carbon tax implementation, the ITRI fact sheet says. “CCS is regarded by [the International Energy Agency] as the single technology most capable of CO2 reduction in the world. It can account for more than 20 percent of global CO2 abatement in 2050. However, state-of-the-art CO2 capture technologies, including [integrated gasification combined cycle], oxy-fuel combustion and amine absorption, all cost above $50 USD/tCO2. Before a carbon tax comparable with CO2 capture cost is imposed, CCS is not going anywhere no matter how important it is. Giving the urgency for controlling global warming under 2 degrees C, the pursuit for a cost-effective CO2 capture technology is intensive globally. HECLOT can greatly bring down the commercialization threshold of the CCS solutions,” the ITRI fact sheet said.
