Australian Company builds prototype Carbon Capture Plant in China

The project represents another first for the CSIRO PCC program - the

first capture of carbon dioxide in China using a PCC pilot plant. It

begins the process of applying the technology to Chinese conditions

and evaluating its effectiveness.

PCC is a process that uses a liquid to capture carbon dioxide from

power station flue gases and is a technology that can potentially

reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing and future coal-fired

power stations by more than 85 per cent.

The post-combustion research pilot plant at the Huaneng Beijing Co-

Generation Power Plant is designed to capture 3000 tonnes per annum

of carbon dioxide.

CSIRO's partners in the Beijing pilot project are China's Huaneng

Group and the Thermal Power Research Institute (TPRI).

Chief of CSIRO's Energy Technology Division, Dr David Brockway, said

the project was part of a broad program to identify ways to

significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector.

"Given the world's reliance on coal, we need to find ways to make it

a cleaner energy source. We're delighted to be working with our

partners in China to help find solutions to this global challenge,"

Dr Brockway said.

"In a recent visit to China, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said that

China was the largest consumer of coal in the world and Australia was

the world's largest exporter of coal. As such, Australia and China

should work together develop low emissions coal technologies."

The PCC project will focus on assessing the performance of an amine-

based pilot plant under Chinese conditions.

"It will allow PCC technology to be progressed in the Chinese energy

sector which will have a much greater impact than operating in

Australia alone," Dr Brockway said.

"The next steps in the research would be moving to a much larger

demonstration phase, before then progressing to a full scale system."

The installation of the PCC pilot plant in Beijing is a CSIRO Energy

Transformed Flagship research project which receives funding from the

Australian Government through the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean

Development and Climate initiative (APP). The APP program for PCC

also includes a pilot plant installation at Delta Electricity's

Munmorah power station on the NSW Central Coast, with an additional

Queensland site currently under negotiation.

The Australian Government's APP support PCC research is A$12 million,

A$4 million of which supports this work in China.

CSIRO is also undertaking PCC research outside the scope of the APP

program with a A$5.6 million project in the Latrobe Valley, which

focuses on brown coal.