LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa.,
May 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Air
Products (NYSE: APD) today announced its proprietary carbon dioxide
(CO2) capture, purification and compression system at Vattenfall
AB's research and development facility in Schwarze Pumpe,
Germany is onstream and performing
a key role in the world's premier demonstration of oxyfuel carbon
capture. Vattenfall, one of Europe's leading energy companies, held an
inaugural ceremony today at the facility which hosts what is viewed
globally as the preeminent CO2 oxyfuel project. Air Products'
technology is focusing specifically on the purification and
compression of oxyfuel combustion flue gas during the scheduled
three year demonstration project.
"At Air Products we have been engaged in innovative oxyfuel
solutions for decades. Through working with leading partners all
over the world, one of our goals is to develop technologies that
reduce the cost of capturing CO2," said David J. Taylor, vice president - Energy
Businesses at Air Products. "In working with companies like
Vattenfall, which is leading the field in CO2 capture solutions, we
can help validate our unique CO2 purification and compression
capabilities. These technologies have the potential to fulfill
environmental targets around the world."
Hubertus Altmann, head of the
Power Plant Unit of Vattenfall in Germany is pleased with the transatlantic
collaboration on this project. "Increasing efficiency is one of the
crucial tasks when developing CCS (carbon capture and storage). In
a few years, the technology will be competitive in the market and
in order to reach that goal there remains a lot of R&D to be
done. It's important for international companies such as Air
Products and Vattenfall to join forces and cooperate on projects
like the one we are celebrating today," said Altmann.
At the Schwarze Pumpe facility, Air Products will take flue
gas directly off Vattenfall's 30 megawatt (MW) wall-fired boiler at
the oxyfuel pilot plant. It will purify and compress the carbon
dioxide to a purity acceptable for storage or enhanced oil
recovery. Air Products' proprietary sour compression technology
uses a staged compression process to optimize pressure, hold-up,
and residence time to allow removal of impurities during the
compression process. This allows cost savings in the oxyfuel
combustion process and minimizes the concentration of acidic
components, important in preventing corrosion during the CO2
storage process. This pilot will demonstrate the efficient
purification of CO2, and removal of atmospheric gases, in
particular oxygen. In addition, it will incorporate novel membrane
technology, targeting carbon capture rates as high as 98 percent.
More information on Air Products' CO2 purification
technologies can be found at www.airproducts.com/CO2_capture.
Vattenfall inaugurated the 30 MW pilot plant for carbon dioxide
capture at its lignite coal-fired power plant at Schwarze Pumpe in
September 2008. Based on the
conclusions from this pilot plant, the next step will be to build
larger demonstration power plants, for which feasibility studies
have already been initiated and target on-stream status for 2015.
More information on Vattenfall's carbon capture technology is at
www.vattenfall.com/ccs.
Air Products is currently working on several CCS projects around
the world for the power market. These projects include:
- Air Products will design, construct and operate a
state-of-the-art system to capture CO2 from its two steam methane
reformers (SMR) located at a refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, United States. The CO2 removal
technology will be retrofitted to the SMRs, which produce hydrogen
to assist in the making of cleaner burning transportation fuels by
refinery customers on Air Products' Gulf Coast hydrogen pipeline
network. Approximately one million tons of CO2 annually will
be recovered, purified by Air Products, and delivered by Air
Products via a pipeline for injection into enhanced oil recovery
projects in Texas.
- Working with Shanxi International Energy Group Co., Ltd (SIEG)
to perform a feasibility study and reference plant design on its
proprietary oxyfuel carbon dioxide (CO2) purification technology
for potential installation at SIEG's 350 MW Oxyfuel Electrical
Generation Demonstration Project.
- In collaboration with the Alberta Energy Research Institute in
Canada, a study focusing on
advanced CO2 capture technology for use with gasification.
- In cooperation with DOE, Air Products designed and constructed
a CO2 purification system in support of an oxyfuel technology
development project at a boiler simulation facility in Windsor, Connecticut, United States.
- Air Products demonstrated oxyfuel sour compression technology
in experimental work carried out by Imperial College London with
flue gas from a 160 kilowatt coal-fired combustion installation at
Doosan Power Systems' facility in Renfrew, Scotland, as part of the Oxycoal-UK
Project.
About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE: APD) serves customers in industrial, energy,
technology and healthcare markets worldwide with a unique portfolio
of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance
materials, and equipment and services. Founded in 1940,
Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets
such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare
services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and
adhesives. The company is recognized for its innovative
culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the
environment. In fiscal 2010, Air Products had revenues of
$9 billion, operations in over 40
countries, and 18,300 employees around the globe. For more
information, visit www.airproducts.com.
About Vattenfall
Vattenfall is Europe's fifth
largest generator of electricity and the largest generator of heat.
Its vision is to be a leading European energy company. Today,
Vattenfall generates electricity, produces heat and supplies energy
to several million customers in the Nordic countries and northern
Europe. Relying on coal as an
energy source in some of the countries, Vattenfall is strongly
committed to CCS and plays a key role in the development of these
innovative technologies. It has set as target a 50 percent
reduction of its CO2 emissions by 2030 and has the vision to become
CO2 neutral by 2050. More information on Vattenfall can be found at
www.vattenfall.com.
Editors Note: Photos of the Vattenfall facility and
today's event in Schwarze Pumpe, Germany are available in Air Products' News
Center at: http://www.airproducts.com/company/news-center.aspx.
***NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements
within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are
based on management's reasonable expectations and assumptions as of
the date of this release regarding important risk factors. Actual
performance and financial results may differ materially from
projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking
statements because of many factors not anticipated by management,
including risk factors described in the Company's Form 10K for its
fiscal year ended September 30,
2010.
SOURCE Air Products