CCS collaboration completes key stage

A collaboration between CO2CRC’s Otway Project in Victoria and the Callide Oxyfuel Project in Queensland has come to the end of a key stage, following the latter’s completion of the world’s first industrial-scale demonstration of oxyfuel combustion and carbon capture.

Over two years, the $245 million Callide Oxyfuel Project has achieved over 10,000 hours of oxy-combustion and more than 5500 hours of carbon capture from the coal-fired electricity generation facility at CS Energy’s Callide A Power Station. According to Callide Oxyfuel Project Director Dr Chris Spero, the technology is now “ready for the next steps toward commercial application”.

As part of the research collaboration, 13 tonnes of CO₂ were captured during Callide Oxyfuel trials and transported to the CO2CRC site, which is representative of conditions likely to be found in real operations. Here, the CO₂ was injected underground and “used to evaluate the geochemical and physical behaviour of carbon dioxide within the storage rock”, Dr Spero said.

This was the first time in Australia that emissions from an operating power station were captured and stored. According to CO2CRC Chairman Martin Ferguson AM, the two projects have “made a significant contribution to the progression of carbon capture and storage”.

“The Callide Oxyfuel Project helped create a pathway for the design and construction of larger scale oxy-combustion plants with carbon capture, and the importance of that contribution should not be underestimated,” Ferguson said.

He added, “CO2CRC is evaluating the results from the Callide project and will continue to work with industry to develop CCS as a key technology for large-scale emissions reduction.” A number of other research programs are currently being undertaken at the Otway Project site, including the monitoring of CO₂ stored 1400 m underground and evaluation of technologies for separation of CO₂ during natural gas processing.