The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlined a project which will investigate the development of oxy-fuel technology for a demonstration power plant in central Queensland.
The project is a collaborative effort between the Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP); Xstrata Coal; electricity generators CS Energy, Stanwell Corporation and Tarong Energy; and coal researchers University of Newcastle, the Cooperative Research Centre for Coal in Sustainable Development and the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies.
Japanese partners include major power engineering company Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries and the Center for Coal Utilization Japan.
The oxy-fuel combustion process has the potential to significantly lower the cost of capturing CO2 from conventional coal-fired power plants.
The process involves feeding a modified conventional boiler with pure oxygen rather than air, and recycling a proportion of the flue gases through the combustion chamber. This has the effect of significantly raising the concentration of CO2 in the flue gases. The low concentration of CO2 in the flue gases of conventional power stations is the major barrier to CO2 capture because it makes it expensive to separate and process.
The project will include the capture and geological storage of the CO2. Australian Coal Association executive director Mark O’Neill said the initiative was inline with the growing international consensus that clean coal and carbon sequestration technologies are an essential response to climate change.
The two-year feasibility study will cost A$3 million.
