Masdar collaboration suggests feasibility of carbon capture

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business

Findings from a study conducted by the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology reveal that the novel carbon capture and utilization technology developed by UAE-based ENGSL Minerals DMCC (the technology partner of EnPro) could capture up to 1.3 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, or 85% of total CO2 emitted by a typical UAE combined-cycle natural gas-fired power plant, at minimal costs.
“This is an important technology with a very good potential for industrial-scale deployment in the UAE. We are very happy with our collaboration with Masdar Institute on this environmentally-friendly process and we look forward for the continuation of this project and future related projects with Masdar institute and other industrial partners,” said BadriGhais, Chairman of ENGSL.
“Through a comprehensive process of design modeling, economic evaluation, and experimental validation, we determined how economically feasible this technology is and we have proven that it has very high potential to be implemented on a large-scale on UAE’s combined cycle power plants,” said Dr.
Mohammad Abu Zahra, Associate Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering.
Dr. Abu Zahra is leading the Masdar Institute research team, which includes Dr. Ahmed Al Hajaj, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, and Master’s student Ahmed Yusuf. The team produced these results from a techno-economic analysis of ENGSL’s sodium hydroxide-based Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) technology.
The team’s findings reveal
that the capital costs of ENGSL’s technology could be up to 35% lower compared to mainstream carbon capture technologies, which use aqueous amine solutions in an energy-intensive carbon capture process, while overall energy/electricity demand could be up to 65% lower. The associate professor believes that if implemented at a large-scale, ENGSL’s patented CCU technology – which mixes sodium hydroxide with CO2 from the flue gas to create a valuable chemical called soda ash – provides a very good opportunity to lower the UAE’s greenhouse gas emissions while increasing its revenue stream from soda ash exports.
ENGSL’s CCU technology has a smaller energy requirement than conventional carbon capture technologies due to its unique capture process, which converts the CO2 directly into a solid material without the need to compress the captured CO2. Dr. Abu Zahra’s team found that the energy and financial costs of operating the ENGSL capture technology on a 560-megawatt electrical natural gas-fired power plant can be further reduced and completely offset by selling the resulting soda ash for a minimum of US$18 per ton. This amount is significantly cheaper than current market value of the chemical, a common ingredient in glass, detergents and many other chemical industries, and has recently sold at market prices above US$200 per ton.