Norway advances carbon capture plans
8 May 2012
Oslo - Aker Solutions has opened a carbon capture plant at the CO2 Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) - one of the world’s largest development facilities for carbon capture technologies.
The centre is operated by TCM DA, a joint venture between Gassnova - on behalf of the Norwegian government - Statoil, Shell and Sasol. The TCM employs two different post combustion technologies.
Aker Solutions designed and delivered the amine plant, which is one of the two plants at the centre. The amine plant is designed for a capture capacity of about 80 kilotonnes per annum.
“The co-operation between Gassnova and all the TCM partners during the engineering and construction period has been positive. We are now ready for start-up, and we look forward to demonstrating good performance data,” said Valborg Lundegaard, head of engineering at Aker Solutions.
Aker Solutions, which delivered the first pilot plant in Norway for CO2 removal from flue gas, established Aker Clean Carbon to further develop technology in 2007. Its technical solutions and improvements are to be tested in the large-scale plant at Mongstad.
The contract for design and construction of the amine plant was signed in 2009. The plant has incorporated great flexibilities and several new features have been included:
- Improved amines (less degradation and reduced energy demand)
- Minimum emission system
- Rectangular concrete column, slip-form construction
- Energy saver
- Two alternative desorbers and reboilers
- Amine reclaimer system
The plant layout was arranged into segments or modules that could be completed at a workshop or yard. Most of the modules was constructed and completed by Kvaerner at its yard at Stord, Norway and transported on barges for final installation at Mongstad.
The plant was completed mechanically in June 2011 and was followed by commissioning and start-up activities.
The plant is connected to two different flue gas sources; the combined heat and power plant (CHP) with a flue gas CO2 concentration of 3.5 volume per cent and the refinery cracker (RCC) with a concentration of 12.9 volume per cent. The latter gas composition is very similar to flue gas from coal fired power stations.
A test programme for standard amine (MEA) and performance tests are planned before July. After these planned activities, Aker Solutions shall execute a comprehensive test programme over 14 months.
As part of this programme, the mobile test unit (MTU) will be utilised and operated in parallel with the larger plant at Mongstad. Under the test programme for the two different flue gases, several amine solvents are be tested and several measurements campaigns are planned.
Aker Solutions has been developing carbon capture technologies for almost 20 years. It has selected the post combustion (amine) technology as the most competitive technology for carbon capture from fossil fuel power plants and other industrial emitters.
In 2008, Aker Clean Carbon, started testing on flue gas from gas power in a larger mobile test unit (MTU) in Stavanger, and later carbon capture from a coal fired power station at Longannet in Scotland for two years.
The MTU was then moved to the national test centre in Alabama for further testing on flue gas from a coal power plant. The permanent amine plant at Mongstad has a capacity which is about 45 times larger than for the MTU.
