Air Liquide and the capture and storage of CO₂ [ Return towards The capture and storage of CO2 ]

Air Liquide is involved in numerous pilot projects which are primarily aimed at testing processes which use oxygen to reduce CO₂ emissions. What the Group brings to such projects is its sound knowledge of oxy-combustion technologies and a portfolio of over 800 patents in the field.

Videos

Interview with François Moisan, Executive Director of Strategy and Research at ADEME, French Agency for the Environment and Energy Management.

How does CO₂ capture and storage work?

Demonstration projects

CO₂ capture and storage technologies are currently being demonstrated on a large scale with the aim of proving the feasibility of this solution and reducing the production and implementation costs.

Within Europe, Air Liquide is a partner of the Lacq Project (France), aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of the entire CO₂ capture and storage chain using oxy-combustion. The Group provides the necessary burners and 240 tons of oxygen per day. The project was launched in early 2010.

Meanwhile, in Australia, Air Liquide is also involved in the Callide Oxyfuel project; a 100MWth coal-burning power plant is converted to oxy-combustion for the partial capture of CO₂ and sub-soil storage, which is due to launch in 2011.

In North America, Air Liquide is a partner of the Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group in the operation of a unit using carbon oxide combustion, the first campaigns for which took place in 2007.

Air Liquide is involved in various projects that aim to limit CO₂ emissions in industry, including the European ULCOS project (Ultra Low CO₂ Steelmaking) for which it has developed pilot equipment to separate the CO₂ from blast furnace fumes. The first validation under industrial conditions took place in Luleå, Sweden, in 2008.

Key figures

CO₂ capture and storage technologies are expected to be in operational as of 2020.
Every year, around the world, 35 coal-fired power plants and 20 gas plants are expected to be equipped with the CO₂ capture and storage solution.
An average-sized (500MW/year) coal-fired power plant emits around 4 million tons of CO₂ per year. Converting such a plant to oxy-combustion requires 10,000 tons of oxygen per day.
Air Liquide’s production capacity in 2008 was around 130,000 tons of oxygen per day.