capture of non-co2 gases

8/11/2019 Capture of Non-co2 Gases

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ET F 2030 Technology Perspectives

OCETA Page 1 August 24, 1998

Capture of non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases

Description of the Technology:

Non-CO2 greenhouse gases are generated anthropogenically in smaller quantities than

CO2, and from diverse sources. Because these sources are often dispersed, thetechnologies applicable to capture from power generation will not necessarily be feasible.

Membrane processes are both current and future methodology proposed for theseseparations. The coming generations of gas separation membranes are expected to haveheightened selectivity to improve the quality of separations, and improved permeabilityto increase production levels. Polymer materials and membrane casting processes are

part of the system under development for the membrane separation technologies.

Adsorption and cryogenic separation are other current and future technologies applicableto capture of other GHG.

Methane avoidance technologies, for example, include methane leak detection and correction in the natural gas industry. Remote

sensing technology for pipeline leaks is planned for use. methane from anaerobic digestion relating to farming waste, particularly

manure, is produced on a large scale throughout the country. Newtechnologies are being explored. Manure composting, a technology not

presently in use, avoids methane production.

Emission of SF6 can be avoided with capture and recycle systems, and with better maintenance and improved manufacturing processing, but usually these activities are

new, or are being planned for the future . In the electrical industry, SF6 will be replaced,in part, by air or vacuum system circuit breakers, and in the magnesium productionindustry, SF6 will be replaced. Research is ongoing, by Norsk Hydro, on use of an SO2cover gas system, as a replacement for SF6 in its magnesium facility in Becancour, Que.

Emissions reduction (PFCs and HFCs) for the semiconductor industry is part of avoluntary agreement between the industry and the US- EPA. Capture and recyclesystems can be used but are expensive and space consuming. Researchers are looking for alternative compounds for the dielectric etch and clean processes.

Sources of Information:1. Membrane-based Separation of Gases, National Research Council Institute for

Chemical Processes and Environmental Technology (NRC-ICPET). [WWWdocument]. URL: http:// icpet.nrc.ca/projects

2. Global Semiconductor Industry Conference on Perfluorocompounds EmissionsControl, Proceedings. Monterey, CA April 7-8, 1998


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3. Product information on Carbo-X Process; Gas Separation Technology LLC,Golden Colo. [email protected]

4. Powering GHG Reductions Through Technology Advancement; EnvironmentCanada, 1998; Report prepared by Cheminfo, responding to RFP K2610-7-0052

Experts:

1. W.F.J. Evans, Dept of Environmental Resource Studies, Trent University, P.O. Box 4800 Peterborough, ON K9J 7B8 Phone 705-748-16222. Michael Guiver, National Research Council ICPET (Institute for Chemical Process

and Evnironmental Technology, Ottawa, ON [email protected] [ expertise gas membranes]

3. Gervase MacKay, Unisearch Associates Inc., 96 Bradwick Drive; Concord, ON L4K 1K8 Phone 905-669-3547 [ expertise remote sensing]

4. James R. Morris, University of Guelph, Ridgetown College, Ridgetown, ON. Phone

519-674-5456 [email protected] [expertise composting, fertilizer]5. Bruce Woodcock, Aventech Research Inc., 2700 Steeles Ave. West, Suite 202,Concord, ON L4K 3C8; Phone 905-669-8018 [expertise airborne meteorological

sensing and forest fire management]5. David Sovie, Eastman Kodak Company, 100 Ridgeway Ave., Rochester, NY 14652-

6259, USA. Phone: 716-722-9124, and Scott Bartos, US Environmental ProtectionAgency, 401 M Street SW, 6202J Washington, DC USA, Phone 202-565-2134;email bartos.scott@epamail . epa.gov [expertise semiconductor industry PFC emissions]

Rationale:CFC substitutes (HFCs), SF6, nitrous oxide and methane account for 11.5%, .?? %,4.5%, and 20.5% of contributions, respectively, as a result of their global warming

potentials of 300- 5000X, 23,900X, 150X, 21X relative to carbon dioxide. Technologiesrelating to their mitigation are therefore important. Global warming potentials combineradiative forcing and lifetime of the ghg substance. GAP

It has been forecast that the contributions from methane (particularly from the natural gasindustry \) will peak in about 20 years and then decline, assuming that concern aboutclimate change leads to large scale adoption of CO2 mitigation. However, another forecast takes into account the measured increases in atmospheric methane from allsources and estimates that in the last half of the 21 st century, methane will surpass CO2 asthe major greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Development of methane avoidancetechnologies is, therefore, important.

Current Status, and Expected Time and Probability for Market Entry:


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Natural gas typically contains methane and carbon dioxide. Separation techniques arewell established in the oil and gas industry. Amine scrubbing is frequently employed.An equivalent industrial application for separation of methane is applicable,

providing the methane is compressed. Where a low pressure separation process is required, such as separation of CO2 from

methane in landfill gas, new technologies are developing to meet the emergingmarket for capture of landfill gas. The Carbo-X Process is one such process, whichemploys a patented process derived from pressure swing adsorption (PSA), for the

purpose of removing CO2, air or N2 from low quality methane. This technology hasnot yet been demonstrated, and probably will take a decade to become fullycommercial. Another decade or more will be required for technologies for separations (capture) of low quality methane to come into widespread use.

Separations of GHG at the source of the emission, using membrane technologyrequire only a linear extension of existing technology, but high performance, costand applicability to large flows are issues to be resolved by continuing developmentover the next few decades.

For the semi-conductor industry strategies have been enunciated which will improveenergy efficiency by >50%. Few of these technologies will be implemented until new plants are built. Space is typically not available in existing plants for exhaust captureand recycle, or for incineration. Future tools and processes, including alternativechemistries (some very short lifetimes and virtually zero ghg potential), will begin to

be in use in about 10 years. Remote sensing technology for pipeline methane leaking is at an early stage; some

demonstration work has been done. Low cost tunable diode lasers operating in the Near Infrared wavelength range have been proposed as key components; stabletunable diode lasers have a high probability to be available within ten years;widespread application of tunable diode lasers will take another ten years.

The SF6 replacement technology in magnesium production will have a first full scaleuse in the first decade of the 21 st century, but would not come into common use untillater.

Manure composting will be demonstrated at full scale for one or more types of livestock production, e.g. hogs, turkeys, within two years. It is not likely to come intowidespread use on farms until the next generation of farmers.

Nitrous oxide emissions from use of nitrate based chemical fertilizers can be reduced by use of organic fertilizers. Such fertilizers originate from the widespread use of composting for waste biomass. Use of organic compost-originated fertilizers will becommon by 2030.

Nitrous oxide emissions from burning tropical forests can be reduced by forest fire

management using airplanes equipped with global positioning equipment together with microclimate sensing for wind/ temperature, and intelligent software based onhuman decision making and knowledge bases.

Engineered technology for commercial refrigerant and air conditioning systemsrequires 30% less refrigerant, uses CFCs or HCFCs, and offers 20- 30% reduction inenergy, and is available for retrofit. As capital stock is replaced over the next twentyyears, virtually all refrigeration will have the same or better characteristics.


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Canadian Linkages:

Remote sensing instrumentation is offered commercially by Unisearch Inc., Concord,ON. Several instruments use lasers and/or diode lasers. The stable tunable diode laser

does not exist, except for an unacceptably low tuning range, but may develop out of theSXC laser technology currently under development by Dr. Daniel Cassidy at McMaster University. Unisearch has strong connections with York University, University of Toronto, CRESTech and other institutions. Boreal Laser Inc, Calgary, has used anairborne remote sensing system using a non-tunable diode laser. Systems for this type of remote sensing will take some time to be fully demonstrated, and will not becommercially common until well into the 21 st century.

National Research Council, ICPET, has well-established expertise in membrane gas andliquid separations.

Universal Separations Inc., Lacombe, AB , utilizing the experience of their principal inthe business and technology of underbalanced drilling, is soon to build a first version of a product offering a methane separation from industrial process gas; based on a membranetechnology. If their business concept proves to be commercially successful, this type of separation will be in normal use before 2030.

Norsk Hydro, which plans a magnesium plant in Becancour, QC, is performing researchin Norway on an SO2 cover gas system, planned to replace SF6. The projected time isten years, for the first system.

Hog manure composting on a large scale has been demonstrated for the first time atRidgetown College, University of Guelph, in conjunction with Global Earth Products Inc.of Utopia, ON. The next steps involve on-farm demonstrations where several differentmanure management and carbon feedstock systems are to be tried. The economicviability of this technology will be assisted by the production of a saleable product,organic fertilizer. It is proposed that the material be pelletized for off-site application.The mobile pelletizer has not been designed and built nor has the pelletizer been scaledup for this application, to date. Application of this organic compost-originated fertilizer on a large scale has the potential to displace a significant usage of nitrate based chemicalfertilizer, and thus reduce nitrous oxide emissions.

Aventech Research Inc., Concord, ON has introduced its miniature airbornemeteorological data systems. A prototype has been demonstrated to several stakeholdersin the forestry management industry and government departments; the principals havederived their technologies, in part, from expertise developed while they were at theUniversity of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies. The application in wildland fireoperations is that local scale upper-air meteorology affects smoke dispersion and the risk of sudden changes in fire behavior. Monitoring of the governing conditions, on therequisite time and space scales, enable fire management. The risks associated with firesuppression, and also with prescribed burns, would be reduced; and the attendant


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emissions of nitrous oxide (and carbon dioxide) would be minimized. Severaltechnologies need to be merged to make this system operate in an optimum way for forestfire management; full commercial implementation would be in the next century.

National and international acceptance of this technology for minimizing ghg emissionswould require a further period.

Thermco International is the leading company in Canada offering commercialrefrigeration and air conditioning systems containing less refrigerant. They couldcontinue to be at the forefront of new developments in this field.

Additional Information: Gas Hydrates

Methane trapped as gas hydrates in marine sediments and in the deep ocean represents animmense potential energy source. The amount of gas in hydrate reservoirs greatlyexceeds the volume of known conventional reserves. Technology development willundoubtedly be part of the scenario when society draws on this energy resource.

With global warming, there is potential for release of the land-based gas hydrates trappedin permafrost. These gas hydrates in Arctic environments are only a small percentage of all gas hydrates. There is insufficient information to judge what processes affect thestability of hydrates, such that methane would be released to the atmosphere. Theconsensus of scientific opinion, however, is that marine gas hydrates are extremelystable.

Future scenario:

Separation of ghg at the (fixed) source of emission will be commonplace in 2030, and

the technologies applied to CO2 will be adapted. Use of ghg avoidance technology will be common. By 2010, agricultural composting

practise will avoid methane production. Pipeline leak detection for methane will useremote sensing technology, by 2010. SF6 avoidance in the magnesium industry will

be in place within the first two decades of the 21 st century.

In the airline industry, nitrous oxide reduction through use of better fuels (i.e.containing hydrogen) could readily be shown to be technically feasible by 2020 butwill not be adopted until after 2030.

Refrigerant technology will be able to use refrigerant gases with reduced warming potential, by 2010.

Gas hydrates will be accessed as an energy source after 2030. The period prior to therelated technology development will be used for establishing basis information abouttheir properties.

capture of non-co2 gases

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