BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A regional power cooperative is seeking funding from North Dakota’s Lignite Research Council to explore methods for capturing and using carbon dioxide emissions.
Great River Energy believes the projects could be adopted by facilities around the globe if they’re successful, The Bismarck Tribune (https://bit.ly/2rPYdAA ) reported.
“We think that (carbon capture research) is the key to unlocking additional efficiencies and revenue possibilities for North Dakota’s coal reserves,” Lignite Energy Council President Jason Bohrer said.
Bohrer said the council has more flexibility under President Donald Trump’s administration to look at options instead of focusing research on finding a way to meet federal regulations of coal power plants.
“We didn’t have the opportunity in the past because it was survive or die,” he said.
The power cooperative will aim to find a way to use coal combustion particles to capture carbon dioxide from its flue gas, which exits to the atmosphere through a pipe. It will use Expansion Energy LLC’s patented VCCS Cycle that mixes flue gas with fly ash within a temperature-controlled vessel to create a reaction. The reaction makes a calcium carbonate and a methanol vapor.
The calcium carbonate can be used to absorb sulfur dioxide, and the methanol vapor can be recycled back to the beginning of the VCCS process.
“We want to test the reaction using real flue gas and fly ash . so we make sure the chemicals are right and the proportions are correct,” Broekema said.
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Information from: Bismarck Tribune, https://www.bismarcktribune.com
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