Assessment of the different parameters affecting the CO2 purity from coal fired oxyfuel process

The oxyfuel process is one of the most promising options to capture CO2 from coal fired power plants. The combustion takes place in an atmosphere of almost pure oxygen, delivered from an air separation unit (ASU), and recirculated flue gas. This provides a flue gas containing 80–90 vol% CO2 on a dry basis. Impurities are caused by the purity of the oxygen from the ASU, the combustion process and air ingress. Via liquefaction a CO2 stream with purity in the range from 85 to 99.5 vol% can be separated and stored geologically. Impurities like O2, NOX, SOX, and CO may negatively influence the transport infrastructure or the geological storage site by causing geochemical reactions. Therefore the maximum acceptable concentrations of the impurities in the separated CO2 stream must be defined regarding the requirements from transportation and storage. The main objective of the research project COORAL therefore is to define the required CO2 purity for capture and storage.