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Delta and CSIRO have developed a $5 million research scale pilot facility at Munmorah Power Station on the NSW Central Coast to test the capture (and release) up to 3,000 tonnes per year of carbon dioxide (CO2).
The Munmorah pilot program aims to investigate the potential to adapt post carbon capture (PCC) ammonia absorption processes to Australian conditions. The pilot is expected to be operational by mid 2008. This project is part of and is supported by the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP).
A range of capture technologies are under development internationally, although none are currently commercially available for coal fired generation.
NSW Clean Coal Working Group
NSW has established a Clean Coal Working Group to foster the development of low emission coal technologies in NSW.
The Working Group is chaired by the NSW Department of Primary Industry (DPI) and is attended by coal companies, the Australian Coal Association, CSIRO, all NSW generators, the CO2 Co-operative Research Centre, and representatives of Government Departments.
Within the framework of the NSW Clean Coal Working Group, the NSW generators have completed a series of studies to assess the potential for geo-sequestration of carbon dioxide in deep saline aquifers and coal seams. A review of legal issues regarding geological storage was also completed.
The reports identified potential large scale aquifer storage sites in the Darling Basin, and possible coal seams in the Gunnedah region. The depleted Moomba gas fields in South Australia have also been identified as a potential alternative storage site. The NSW DPI has undertaken similar geological modeling in the Sydney Basin to that undertaken by the NSW generators for the Darling Basin.
Input to a Future Demonstration Project
The Munmorah pilot plant is an essential precursor to a larger PCC demonstration project in NSW. The early cost estimate for a plant to remove up to 100,000 tonne of CO2 per annum is approximately $150 million. This demonstration project would include the capture of the CO2, plus its transport to and injection into a suitable geo-sequestration site and could be operational by 2013.
It should be noted that the cost estimate for the larger demonstration project may vary significantly over time, being particularly dependant on finding a site suitable for geo-sequestration near an existing power station.
Click here for a CSIRO fact sheet on Post Combustion Capture
Click here for a Background Briefing paper on the Carbon Capture Pilot Project
Click here for a copy of the presentation made at the Clean Coal Summit, May 2008
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