Coal-Generated CO2 Captured In Australia – A First
The Government scientists at CSIRO have reported a first for Australia! Carbon dioxide (CO2) has been captured from power station flue gases in a post-combustion-capture (PCC) pilot plant at Loy Yang Power Station in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.
This PCC technology uses a liquid to capture CO2 from power station flue gases and can potentially reduce CO2 emissions from existing and future coal-fired power stations by more than 85 per cent.
80 percent of Australia’s current power supply is fuelled by coal – it’s what turns the lights on in most homes – so we need to find ways to make it a cleaner energy source. This is the first time anyone in the Southern Hemisphere has captured CO2 using the PCC process at a power station so it is a major breakthrough.
The 10.5 metre-high pilot plant is designed to capture up to 1000 tonnes of CO2 per annum from the power station’s exhaust-gas flues. Future trials will involve the use of a range of different CO2-capture liquids.
CSIRO is undertaking similar PCC research at Munmorah near NSW and Beijing, China, and is negotiating the installation of another pilot plant at a Queensland site.
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