Capture studies in Phase 1 of the UK-China Near Zero Emissions Coal project

Abstract The UK-China Near Zero Emissions Coal project was officially launched on 20th November 2007 in Beijing and will run until June 2009. The objectives of the project are to: • Enable knowledge transfer between Chinese and UK parties (academic, industrial and other) • Model the future energy requirements of China, taking CCS technology into account. • Produce case studies of potential carbon dioxide capture technologies. • Build capacity in China for evaluation of storage potential for CO 2 and perform first stage characterisations for selection of sites suitable for CO 2 storage. • Develop a technical and policy level roadmap for CCS. The capture and transport theme in the NZEC project has fourteen Chinese and overseas partners undertaking ten different capture plant case studies and an overview of CO 2 transport in China. The range of coal applications in China means that a number of different approaches may be required, depending on the circumstances. All major types of CCS capture options are being examined: oxyfuel as a new build and a retrofit installation, post-combustion capture using conventional and advanced technologies and gasification with pre-combustion capture for dedicated IGCC and for polygeneration plants. Details of the case studies to be undertaken are presented, with a discussion of key issues in the unique conditions of the Chinese electricity supply market. A comprehensive set of underlying ‘ground rules’ for the studies in the Chinese context will also be described. These will be related to standard conditions used for other studies, e.g. IEA GHG capture technology assessments, and their effects on equivalent plant performance will be estimated to provide ‘correction factors’ for the results of published studies when similar technologies are transferred into the Chinese context.