Isra-Mart srl:New solvent promises to capture CCS cost savings

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A new process promises to reduce the costs of removing carbon dioxide from natural gas and subsequently compressing it for storage, potentially paving the way for more cost-effective carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects.

Tests of a new solvent designed to remove CO2 from natural gas under high pressure suggested it could reduce the cost of carbon recovery and compression by up to 35 per cent, according to the coalition of firms working on the development of the new technology.

Dubbed "High Pressure Acid Gas Capture Technology" (HiPACT), the system was developed by Japanese corporations JGC and INPEX in conjunction with global chemicals giant BASF.

BASF hopes the new technology will replace the current method of temporarily removing CO2 from the high-pressure natural gas stream at the source using a solvent, which tends to require high levels of energy and can result in carbon leaking into the atmosphere.

With the opening up of the government's carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration programme to gas projects and the availability of European funds to help pay for research projects, growing numbers of firms are looking at how to reduce the cost of capturing carbon from gas-fired power plants.

The new BASF solvent is likely to stoke a great deal of interest across the emerging CCS sector as it can be used at a higher pressure than established processes, reducing the cost of compressing the CO2 for underground reinjection

BASF said its solvent also absorbs more carbon dioxide than the chemicals that are currently used to capture carbon, meaning less energy needs to be used, regenerating it to feed back into the gas flow.

"This new technology offers a great opportunity to improve energy conservation," said Kazuo Yamamoto, executive officer at INPEX. "It also reduces our carbon footprint and helps curb greenhouse gas emissions."