Alstom, a world leader in power generation equipment, and The Dow Chemical Company, a leader in innovative chemistry for the development of energy and climate change solutions, on September 10 celebrated the successful start-up and operation of a pilot plant to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the flue gas of a coal-fired boiler at the Dow-owned facility in South Charleston, W.Va. Governor Joe Manchin III and executives from both Alstom and Dow were on hand to dedicate the facility.
The pilot plant uses proprietary advanced-amine technology jointly developed by Alstom and Dow to capture approximately 1,800 metric tons of CO2 per year. The pilot will operate for the next two years, generating reliable, long-term data that can be used to optimize this technology for implementation at coal-fired power plants across the globe. In 2008, the two companies entered into a Joint Development Agreement to develop this technology. In March 2009, the companies announced their plans to design and construct the plant.
West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin III said, "This is a good day for West Virginia. Coal, which represents more than 40 percent of the world's power generation, is and will continue to be an essential part of the world's energy mix. But only by reducing its CO2 output can coal remain a viable source of power generation. As a state rich in fossil fuels, West Virginia, with the help of Dow and Alstom, is becoming the leader in this revolutionary clean coal technology."
"As a leader in carbon capture technology, Alstom is excited to take the next step in commercializing an advanced-amine technology," said Philippe Joubert, Alstom executive vice president and president of Alstom Power. "This pilot plant is designed to evaluate the technology operating under power plant conditions, test proprietary innovations jointly developed by Dow and Alstom and provide data necessary to finalize the design of large-scale demonstration plants that will apply this technology. Integrating this process with new advanced coal and gas fired power generation equipment will allow customers to minimize CO2 emissions while generating electricity as cost effectively as possible."
"As a world leader in chemistry, Dow is uniquely positioned to help address the challenges associated with CO2 capture and other energy and climate change issues," said Heinz Haller, executive vice president of Dow's Performance Products & Systems portfolio. "We have worked closely with Alstom to develop a system that will make CO2 capture extremely cost effective and reduce the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere."
