Challenges and Opportunities for Biological Capture of CO2 from

Power Plant Flue Gases

Richard L. Axelbaum

Dept. Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering Director, Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization

Washington University in St. Louis

Sept 2, 2009

World annual CO2 emissions from power generation (Stationary Power Plants)

Source Data: IEA World Energy Outlook, 2008

Land Use Projected 2015 U.S. CO2 emissions from power generation sources:

2,000 Mton CO2 fixation rate : 40 g_CO2 m-2 day-1

Land Surrounding Power Plant (Labadie, MO)

•! 2 GW of continuous power (three train-loads of coal per day •! CO2 production rate = 43,000 metric tons/day •! 7% Capture •! Fixation rate = 40 gCO2 m-2 day-1

1 mile

29 sq. miles (75 km2)

Coal Land Use

Source: ACI, Frank Clemente at Penn State

The red dot (6 square miles) depicts the size of the area mined in the PRB each year, which supplies over 40% of America’s coal (20% of the US power)

Coal-Fired Power Plant w/ Carbon Capture

Cooling pond

Wisconsin Power & Light Columbia Plant

photo by :Louis J. Maher Jr., University of Wisconsin

Microalgal CO2 Capture from a Power Plant

Flue Gas Composition: Case Studies AmerenUE Labadie, MO

TVA Cumberland, TN

Coal Type Sub-bituminous, PRB, Wyoming

Bituminous, Illinois

Annual Output (billion kW-hr) 18.6 16.4

CO2 emission rate (metric tons per day) 4,300 4,200

NOx control low-NOx burners, overfire-air

low-NOx burners, SCR

SO2 control none wet scrubber

CO2 (v%) 13 – 15% 13 – 15%

NOx (ppm(v)) 100 - 115 350 - 410

SO2 (ppm(v)) before FGD 265 - 310 3,300 – 3,800

after FGD N/A 105 - 125

PM10 (mg/m3) 25 – 30 8 - 10

Labadie, MO

Cumberland, TN

Estimated flue gas composition:

Considerations when using Flue Gas for Biofixation with Microalgae

  Composition of flue gas varies with   type and moisture content of coal   operating conditions   type of plant

  High CO2 concentration has been shown to increase growth rates of certain microalgae

  Concentration of CO2 can vary and be as high as 95%   Temperatures can be high ~ 250°F   Low pH (as low as pH = 2) due to presence of SO2 and

NOx in flue gas   Low concentrations of heavy metals

Historical Activities: Effects of flue gas Simulated Flue Gas: •  High CO2 concentration and temperature:

Hanagata et al., (1992) Appel et al., (1994) Sakai et al. (1995) Sung et al., (1999)

•  SO2 and NOx: Negoro et al., (1991-1992) Brown, Zeiler, et al. (1995-1996) Hauck et al. (1996) Nagase et al., (1997-2001) Lee et al., (2000) Olaizola, (2003)

Actual Flue Gas: •  Oil:

Hamasaki et al (1994) Matsumoto et al. (1995 & 1997) Kurano et al. (1995)

•  LNG & Diesel Lee et al. (2002)

•  Propane Nakamura, Olaizola et al. (2004-2005)

•  Natural gas: Pedroni et al. (2002) Doucha et al. (2005)

•  Kerosene: Chae et al. (2006)

•  Coal: Hamasaki et al (1994), Maeda et al., (1995) Nakamura, Olaizola et al. (2004-2005) Israel et al. (1995) (red seaweed)

Effects of Culture Temperature

30 oC 25 oC

40 oC 35 oC

45 oC

Scenedesmus Chlorella

Hanagata et al. (1992)

Optimum temp in the range of 25–35 °C (77–95 °F)

Effects of NO and SO2

• Productivity is not inhibited, as long as pH is maintained

Lee et al 2002 Matsumoto et al 1997

NO capture by microalgae

1.  NO dissolution in the aqueous phase (slow)

2.  NO oxidation in medium to NO2

-

OR

Direct uptake of NO by algae cells (dominant) (Nagase et al 2001)

(Nagase et al 1997)

Dunaliella culture cell-free medium fresh medium DI water

•  Dunaliella preferentially used NO as its source of N over nitrates in the medium (Nagase et al 2001)

• With proper reactor design to allow time for NO dissolution, > 95% capture efficiency can be achieved (Nagase et al. 1998)

•  Additives may be used to improve NO dissolution rate (Jin et al 2008)

Process:

Heavy Metals, Toxic Organics, and Hg Douskova et al. (2009)

Concentrations in Chlorella after cultivating in control gas (CO2 + air) and flue gas from waste incineration

Recent Demonstrations with Flue Gas

Onsite powerplant supplies 188 kg CO2/hr to the ponds. (Pedroni et al. 2001)

CO2 scrubber Cyanotech Corp., HI

Seambiotic, Ashkelon Israel •  Uses flue gas from Israeli Electric coal-fired power station •  up to 20 g algae/m2/day

Carbon Capture Corp., CA Uses flue gas from two 30kw microturbines

photos: Pedroni et al . (2001) http://www.cyanotech.com/

photo: www.seambiotic.com

Companies Involved in Microalgae R&D Name Location Notes

Algae Production Systems (APS) Houston, TX Developing bioreactor and processing technology

Algenol Biofuels Bonita Springs, FL Working with BioFelds in large site in Sonora desert, Mexico, under construction 40 bioreactors installed in FL

Aquatic Energy Lake Charles, LA 4 hectare pilot facility, 100 m raceway ponds,

Aurora Biofuels Hq:Almeda CA Pilot facility in FL

Small pilot scale facility in operation, 20 acre facility finished by end of 2009

Carbon Capture Corp. Imperial Valley, CA Total pond capacity 2.7 M gal, 7 – 150gal photobioreactors Cyanotech HI, Kona coast 80-acre facility Exxon Mobile Committed $600 million to develop biofuels from algae Infinifuel Corp Dayton, NV Ingrepro Netherlands Operates three large production sites, Kent BioEnergy Palm Springs, CA 160 acre open pond facility existing, Purchased 350 acre site LiveFuels San Carlos, CA Exploring extracting oil from aquatic feedstock PetroAlgae Fellsmere, FL Several acre facility with raceway and still ponds PetroSun Rio Honda, TX 1,100 acres of ponds Seambiotic Israel 1,000m2 (0.25 acres) ponds at a power plant Shell-Cellana & HR Biofuels HI, Kona coast 2.5 hectare under construction, intends to use powerplant flue gas

Solix Biofuels Fort Collins, CO 2-acre facility, using CO2 captured from coal-bed methane XL Renewables AZ 2.5 acre facility in operation, 40-acre facility to come online

Benefits of microalgal CO2 flue gas capture

•  Potential for multi-pollutant flue gas scrubbing: CO2, NO, SO2, Hg,

•  Flue gas provides high CO2 concentration for improved algae production

•  Waste heat from power plant can be utilized to maintain algae at optimum temperature

•  CO2 is converted into a value product for sale / utilization

•  Reduced carbon emissions and possibly other emissions that can offset costs to the power plant

•  Algae is stored solar energy, unlike energy from PV

Costs Stepan et al (2002): Raceway ponds Algae production costs: $110/ton dry algae $55/ton CO2

Chisti, (2007): Photobioreactor Algae production cost:

$500/ton_dry algae $250/ton CO2

Buhre et al. (2005)

Cost of other carbon capture technologies

Needs & Recommendations

•  low-cost technology to produce microalgae

•  stable cultivation at high productivity

•  co-products such as nutraceuticals

•  co-processes such as flue gas capture, waste water treatment

•  Collaboration between utilities and algae/biofuel producers

•  Collaboration between biologists, engineers and utilities •  to improve reactor designs for newly engineered organisms •  to develop novel uses of algae for energy production

CO2 

coal 

biomass 

CO2 

solar 

storage 

bioreactor liquid fuels 

wind 

steam turbine 

O2 oxy‐fuel combustor 

Conceptual Drawing of a Future Power Plant

Present U.S. CO2 Sequestration Activities

1. Report: DOE/NETL-402/1312/02-07-08

CO2 stored by EOR: (natural and anthropogenic)

51 MMt/yr

CO2 saved in 2007 by using wind and solar for electricity instead of coal

30 MMt/yr

compare to

Currently more than 3,500 miles of CO2 pipeline in place

In perspective…

History of the Paddlewheel

Fulton’s “Folly” “Advanced” paddlewheel boat

Green Paddlewheels

Algae to Liquid Fuels

!!Cultivation!!Harvesting

"! concentration by chemical flocculation "! drying

!!Extraction!!Use in Internal Combustion Engine

"! efficiency <20%, compared to >45% for modern power plant)

Combustion Characteristics of Chlorella

NIES culture collection http://mcc.nies.go.jp/images/100images/nies-0642.jpg

Proximate Analysis

Chlorella pr. Demirbas (2006)

PRB coal Sawdust

HHV (daf) 23.6 MJ/kg 29.9 MJ/kg 19.7 MJ/kg

Fixed C (dry) 39.6% 48.0% 14.9%

Volatiles (dry) 54.6% 45.3% 84.5%

Ash (dry) 5.8% 6.7% 0.6%

Chlorella can be grown in waste water treatment plants

Direct Combustion of Algae in Power Cycle for Electricity

  Eliminates losses from   Drying   Extraction   50% of algae is not converted into fuel

  Eliminates low efficiency IC Engine (20%)   Replaces it with high efficiency Power Cycle (45%)

and PHEV or EV.

} >30% of cost of algal fuels

Direct Combustion Cycle for High Efficiency use of Algae with CCS

! Vision"! Dedicated to addressing the scientific and technological challenges

of ensuring that coal can be used in a clean and sustainable manner.

!! Mission"! A resource to industry for the advancement of technologies that

foster clean utilization of coal by creating an international partnership between universities, industries, foundations, and government organizations.

!! Goals"! State-of-the-art clean coal facilities that are unprecedented on a

university campus "! Support of advanced research projects at Washington University in

collaboration with the McDonnell Partner Universities around the world.

Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization

screwfeeder

primaryoxidizer(O2 / N2 /CO2)

Oxy-fuel combustor

secondaryoxidizer, swirl (O2 / N2 /CO2)

eductor

refractory

combustionzone

mixing /char burnout

zone

35 kW, self-sustaining oxy/coal/biomass combustor

coal

screwfeeder

biomass exhaust

Research facility under development • 0.5-1.0 MW Combustion Facility • Oxy-coal and Air-coal • Co-firing with Biomass • Steam generation for Campus• 4000 sq. ft Research Facility • Designed for flexibility

DryScrubber

Fly Ash Silo Stack

ID Fan

Booster Fan Wet Scrubber (optional)

FabricFilter

BoilerCombustor

Pulverizer

CoalStorage Bin BucketElevatorCoal Chute

Feeder

CO2 Compressions Skid

Bioreactor