24
Sorbents
for Air Separation—TDA
Research, Inc., 12345 W. 52nd Avenue, Wheat Ridge, CO
80033-1916; 303-940-2300
Dr.
Gokhan O. Alptekin, Principal Investigator, galptekin@tda.com
Mr.
John D. Wright, Business Official, jdwright@tda.com
DOE
Grant No. DE-FG02-05ER84216
Amount:
$750,000
Gasification-based power generation processes, such as
Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plants, offer the possibility of
higher thermal efficiency and better environmental performance than competing
technologies. Yet, additional
improvements are needed to reduce their capital and operating costs.
One such improvement would be the use of oxygen instead of air for
gasification, which would increase efficiency, reduce NOx emissions, and improve
gas purity. However, oxygen is
expensive to produce. Therefore,
this project will develop a high-temperature sorbent-based system for air
separation, so that the gasification process can be supplied with low cost
oxygen. Phase I developed a
low-cost regenerable sorbent that can remove oxygen with very high capacity,
demonstrated that the sorbent maintains its capacity for over 200
absorption/regeneration cycles under representative conditions, demonstrated
economic viability, and reported the potential for dramatic reductions in the
cost of oxygen. In Phase II,
improvements in sorbent’s performance will be continued, and the sorbent will
be scaled-up for production using commercial manufacturing techniques.
A prototype test unit will be designed and fabricated, in order to
demonstrate the concept at a larger scale. Lastly,
a detailed system analysis and engineering assessment will be performed to fully
quantify the benefits of the new technology.
Commercial
Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee:
Oxygen is a
strategically important chemical, with a $2.0 billion market value.
It supports the combustion of fuels that supply heat, light, and power,
and enters into oxidative combination with many materials.
A cost-effective air separation technology should find immediate use in
the U.S. energy manufacturing and chemical industries.