Info!
UPDATED 1 Sept: The EI library in London is temporarily closed to the public, as a precautionary measure in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The Knowledge Service will still be answering email queries via email , or via live chats during working hours (09:15-17:00 GMT). Our e-library is always open for members here: eLibrary , for full-text access to over 200 e-books and millions of articles. Thank you for your patience.
UPDATED 1 Sept: The EI library in London is temporarily closed to the public, as a precautionary measure in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The Knowledge Service will still be answering email queries via email , or via live chats during working hours (09:15-17:00 GMT). Our e-library is always open for members here: eLibrary , for full-text access to over 200 e-books and millions of articles. Thank you for your patience.
Fuel cell technology – to generate power, and capture carbon?
Fuel cell technology could be used in the future to not just generate power, but also to separate carbon dioxide from the emissions of coal-fired power plants, if new US research is successful.
US company FuelCell Energy has acquired funding of stage three of a carbon capture development project from the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy. FuelCell Energy is testing its Direct FuelCell (DFC) technology (pictured) to separate the gas.
FuelCell Energy says that the advantage with using a DFC stack to capture carbon is that the technology can also produce additional power in the process, thereby acting to achieve carbon capture goals cost-effectively. The third stage of the project includes validation of the DFC technology capabilities by using a fuel cell stack to separate 90% of carbon dioxide from a simulated coal gas plant exhaust.
The fuel cells separate and concentrate carbon dioxide 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 carbon dioxide for commercial use or sequestration.
Another benefit is that a further side reaction reduces nitrogen dioxide from flue gas by 60–70%, thus potentially reducing the cost of nitrogen dioxide removal equipment for plant operators.
News Item details
Journal title: Energy World
Countries: USA -
Subjects: Carbon capture, transportation and storage, Power stations, Coal fired power stations, Funding, Flue gas, Carbon emissions, Carbon dioxide
