Advanced Technology for the Capture of Carbon Dioxide from Flue Gases

Cost effective carbon sequestration schemes have been identified as a key need for dealing with carbon dioxide's (CO 2) impact on global climate change. Two main approaches are being pursued for sequestration: the enhancement of biological carbon sinks, and the capture and storage of CO 2. Since the bulk of the cost in a capture and storage sequestration scheme stems from CO 2 separation and compression, Praxair has focused on substantially reducing these costs through technology advances. In this paper, we focus on CO 2 capture from flue gases emitted from the existing energy infrastructure. Such large point sources account for nearly sixty percent of global CO 2 emissions. Praxair has developed advanced amine absorption processes that can separate CO 2 from flue gases at much lower costs than current commercial alternatives. These significant capital and operating cost savings have been achieved by developing an oxygen tolerant amine absorption process, and by the application of amine blends.