Removing and reducing carbon emissions

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We are living in a world where technology is advancing at its fastest pace, resulting in emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). In order to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets, decarbonising the industrial sector is as important as the power sector. Low-carbon production technologies are being developed and deployed, but Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), a way of removing, reducing and reusing carbon emissions from power plants and industrial processes, is considered to be the one of the most important methods to tackle the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere.

Currently, CCUS is arguably the only technology to help reduce greenhouse gases from large emissions sources and decarbonise industry at the lowest cost. CCUS, combined with bioenergy, referred to as BECCS, offers potential for negative emissions which translates into removing CO2 from the atmosphere.

Developing and deploying the CCUS technology at scale has a key role to play in future net zero scenarios. Understanding, improving and demonstrating the processes and technology, as well as the economic viability, will enable carbon capture to become an embedded method of decarbonising our world.

At the Translational Energy Research Centre our aim is to develop technology and knowledge to tackle different aspects of CCUS. Our research capabilities cover a wide range of CCUS scenarios. Our post-combustion CO2 capture plant is fully integrated with up-stream and down-stream processes to demonstrate integrated operation of technologies at pilot scale.

Specific interest areas

  • Demonstration of fully integrated generation, capture (including BECCS) and utilisation technologies
  • Techno-economic and environmental life cycle assessments of CO2 capture and utilisation systems
  • Economical carbon capture from power plants (including gas, coal and biomass) using real flue gases
  • Carbon capture feasibility and economics from industrial sources using modulated flue gases
  • Post-combustion carbon capture and utilisation of CO2 to produce jet fuel
  • Economic and environmental assessment of current and third generation solvents using conventional and Rotating Packed Bed Technology
  • Research on thermal & oxidative solvent degradation, emissions and countermeasures
  • Impact of trace impurities, particulates, aerosols and volatile metals emissions measurements on solvent degradation using state of the art equipment
  • Solvent reclaiming by thermal methods and economics
  • Integrated systems process modelling and model validation