[Env seminars] Costs & Impacts of CO2 Capture - Prof. Ed Rubin, Carnegie Mellon University

[Karen Gibson]

COSTS AND IMPACTS OF CO2 CAPTURE AT POWER PLANTS

Edward S. Rubin 

Department of Engineering and Public Policy
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA


Tuesday, April 12 at 9:00 a.m.
Room E40-496 (The Muckley Building, 1 Amherst St.)



Abstract
Studies of CO2 capture and storage (CCS) costs necessarily employ a 
host of technical and economic assumptions regarding the technology 
or system of interest, including details of the capture technology 
design, the power plant and gas stream being treated, and the methods 
of CO2 transport and storage.  The specific assumptions employed can 
significantly affect the results of an analysis; hence, published 
studies may be of limited value to researchers seeking results for 
alternative assumptions or plant characteristics.  This presentation 
first reviews recent CCS cost studies for pulverized coal (PC), 
natural gas combined cycle (NGCC), and integrated gasification 
combined cycle (IGCC) power plants.  A generalized modeling tool is 
then used to systematically estimate and compare the emissions, 
efficiency, resource requirements and costs of PC, IGCC and NGCC 
plants across a broader range of parameters than found in recent 
studies.  In particular, the effects of higher natural gas prices, 
variations in coal quality, and differential plant utilization rates 
are explored, along with the implications of financing and operating 
assumptions for IGCC plants.  The impact of CCS energy requirements 
on plant-level resource requirements and multi-media environmental 
emissions also is highlighted and quantified.  Finally, the potential 
for future cost reductions is examined in the context of ongoing R&D 
programs and government policies related to global climate change.


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Karen  L. Gibson
Program Assistant
MIT Laboratory For Energy and the Environment
77 Massachusetts Avenue, E40-469
(1 Amherst St., E40-469 - for DHL and FedEx)
Cambridge, MA 02139  USA
Tel:  1 (617) 258-6368; Fax:  1 (617) 258-6590
http://lfee.mit.edu
http://globalsustainability.org
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