Powerspan Announces Results of Independent Assessment of its CO2 Capture Technology

PORTSMOUTH, N.H., May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Powerspan Corp., a clean energy technology company, announced results today from an independent review of its ECO₂^® post-combustion carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture technology, conducted by global engineering firm WorleyParsons Group, Inc.  WorleyParsons conducted a detailed assessment of Powerspan's CO₂ capture pilot test facility and evaluated the technology's readiness for commercial deployment on existing coal-fired electric power plants.  

"The WorleyParsons evaluation provides three important conclusions for power plant owners as they evaluate carbon capture technologies for their existing plants," said Phillip D. Boyle, president and chief operating officer of Powerspan.  "The ECO₂ pilot facility is well-designed and instrumented, and produces reliable data; the pilot facility provides a sound basis for the design and construction of commercial scale systems; and the ECO₂ technology has an operating cost benefit compared to alternative CO₂ capture technologies in commercial use."

The WorleyParsons report concludes that the one megawatt (1 MW) equivalent slipstream ECO₂ pilot test facility (approximately 20 tons per day of CO₂ capture) operating at FirstEnergy Generation Corp.'s R.E. Burger Plant near Shadyside, Ohio, is well-designed and instrumented, with testing results that can be reliably used to design, build, and predict performance of a larger, commercial size plant.  Using design information based on the pilot results, the report concludes that a retrofit project could be implemented at less than $40 per ton of CO₂ captured and compressed for a project size of 220 MWe net.  

The WorleyParsons cost estimate is based on data derived from the ECO₂ pilot for 90 percent CO₂ capture with steam extraction for regeneration of less than 1,000 Btu/lb of CO₂.  This energy requirement is an improvement over previously reported values and results from optimization of the pilot facility process.    

As part of the assessment, the WorleyParsons team visited the pilot test facility; confirmed the objectives for the pilot and the testing plan; verified the overall integrity of the ECO₂ process; verified that the pilot is constructed and operated as was intended; verified location and operation of critical instruments; reviewed the instrument calibration logs; monitored operator actions and pilot plant response; examined sample testing procedures and documentation of results; confirmed automated data acquisition; confirmed that the data is a meaningful basis for a scale-up design from the pilot; and assessed that the ECO₂ pilot is a good representation of a process that can be scaled-up to a larger, commercial size plant.

In addition WorleyParsons assessed the performance and cost implications of commercial scale-up and retrofit of the ECO₂ technology to a 220 MWe net coal-fired power plant based on operating conditions provided by Powerspan, and confirmed by the ECO₂ pilot facility operation.  This high-level scale-up analysis provides estimates on performance, emissions, equipment sizing, and steam cycle modifications.  The study also includes the sizing of the ECO₂ process equipment required for scale-up, the impacts of the ECO₂ process and CO₂ compression on the plant's net generation, and an overview of the reliability and maintenance considerations based on the current status of the process design.

The WorleyParsons assessment will be made available to prospective customers and partners.

Powerspan's ECO₂ technology is a post-combustion CO₂ capture process that uses a proprietary solvent to capture 90 percent of CO₂ from the flue gas of coal-fired power plants.  Once the CO₂ is captured, it is dried and compressed and is ready for pipeline transport and sequestration.  

About Powerspan

Powerspan Corp., a clean energy technology company headquartered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is engaged in the development and commercialization of proprietary carbon capture and multi-pollutant control technology for the electric power industry.   The Company's post-combustion ECO₂ carbon capture technology can be applied to existing and proposed coal-fired power plants to capture 90 percent CO₂.  www.powerspan.com.

About WorleyParsons

WorleyParsons is a leading provider of professional services to the energy, resource, and complex process industries.  The company's services cover the full asset spectrum both in size and lifecycle from the creation of new assets to services that sustain and enhance the value of operating assets.  WorleyParsons' global strategy, supported by 29,100 personnel in 137 offices across 40 countries, is one of developing fully functional operations at a local level wherever our customers need us.  It provides our company with insight into their requirements and the local knowledge to deliver tailored, high-quality solutions.  Major hub operations in the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Australasia are used for added technical expertise and for larger project delivery capability.  www.worleyparsons.com.

SOURCE Powerspan Corp.