Carbon Capture Costs: FEED & pre-FEED Cost Reports

In March 2010, the Scottish CCS (Carbon Capture & Storage) Consortium began an extensive Front End, Engineering and Design (FEED) study to assess what exactly would be required from an engineering, commercial and regulatory, perspective in order to progress the CCS demonstration project at Longannet Power station in Scotland (Goldeneye) through to construction. The study has yielded invaluable knowledge in areas such as cost, design, end-to-end CCS chain operation, health and safety, environment, consent and permitting, risk management, and lessons learnt.

Membrane Technology and Research Inc., with Technology Centre Mongstad, Dresser-Rand, Trimeric Corporation, and WorleyParsons/Advisian, is scaling up its advanced Polaris™ membranes for post-combustion CO₂ capture and testing them at engineering scale at TCM in Norway. The Polaris membranes, about 20 times more permeable than prior commercial versions, use a patented selective recycle design to boost CO₂ concentration in flue gas and lower capture costs. The project will design, build, and operate a modular membrane system for a six-month field test, including performance verification, steady-state operation, techno-economic updates, and integration studies with advanced compression technology.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is leading a FEED study for a commercial-scale CO₂ capture system at Holcim’s Ste. Genevieve cement plant in Missouri, targeting 95% capture efficiency. Using Air Liquide’s Cryocap™ technology, which combines PSA pre-concentration with cryogenic purification, the system will produce high-purity CO₂ for storage near the Prairie State Generating Company in Illinois. UIUC will manage the project and perform economic and impact analyses, while Air Liquide, Kiewit, Visage Energy, and Holcim will contribute to design, safety, environmental, and site integration efforts.