Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
9/5/2014
A three-year project being carried out by the National Energy Technology Laboratory to determine and test the capability of FuelCell Energy’s Direct FuelCell (DFC) carbon capture technology has moved into the third and final phase, FuelCell Energy announced late last week. The technology has the potential to significantly increase the efficiency of the carbon capture process, Tony Leo, vice president of application engineering and new technology at FuelCell Energy, told GHG Monitor in a written response this week. “Conventional technologies used to capture CO2 from the emissions of coal fired power plants are energy-intensive with high operating costs. Most existing carbon capture technologies end up penalizing the power plant output by as much as 30 percent. DFC power plants represent an efficient and cost effective approach to separating CO2 while producing ultra-clean power rather than consuming power,” Leo said.
What makes the technology more efficient is also what makes it unique. “FuelCell Energy’s Direct FuelCell (DFC) technology separates and concentrates CO2 as a side reaction during the power generation process. In this application of the technology, the exhaust of a coal fired plant is directed to the air intake of a DFC power plant, which separates and concentrates the CO2 in the exhaust for commercial use or sequestration. Another side reaction in this application is the destruction of some of the nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in coal plant streams as the exhaust passes through the fuel cell,” Leo said. “Since DFC power plants produce power efficiently and with virtually zero emissions, the net result is a very attractive solution to prevent the release of green-house gases by coal-fired power plants while simultaneously increasing the net efficiency and power output of the plant. Additional benefits include reduction of the operating cost related to removal of NOx and reduction in water usage as existing carbon capture technologies are water intensive.”
During phase three of the project, a DFC stack will be used to separate 90 percent of the CO2 from a simulated gas plant. This is the final phase of testing being funded by the Department of Energy for a total of $3 million. “Phase one consisted of the initial stages of research to assess the capability of DFC technology to separate the CO2 within the flue gas emitted by existing coal fired power plants in a cost effective manner. After favorable results were achieved from the technology and economic analysis conducted in phase one, funding of $0.8 million was awarded for phase two to further refine that research and advance the cell capabilities,” Leo said. Following the conclusion of the final stage of the project, field trials will be conducted using a MW-scale DFC power plant installation next to a conventional fossil fuel plant, Leo said.
