Page 23 - European Energy Innovation - spring 2019 publication

Spring 2019 European Energy Innovation
is required, this becomes a burden
when drastic reductions in CO2 are
required, as is the case.
The SEWGS process is a separation
process that works at 400°C, the
same temperature as in many
industrial processes, and the gases
do not need to be heated and cooled
between the different process
steps, saving an enormous amount
of energy. The SEWGS process
also integrates the conversion of
carbon monoxide (CO) in the off-
gases to CO2, producing an H2
by-product. Furthermore, SEWGS,
as implemented in the STEPWISE
project allows for a route to
progressively decarbonise over 85%
of all CO2 emissions from the many
processes that exist around a steel
plant. In the first instance SEWGS
can be implemented in the power
plant, and later in various other units, the design of a full-scale piece
e.g. the steel plant and the hot blast
furnaces, and this enables it to meet
the challenges of ever tightening CO2
emission targets, while not building
capture technology that becomes
obsolete when the targets are
moved up.
Headline Results of the STEPWISE
project
In the STEPWISE project, a 600m
pipeline was built to transfer off-
gases from a blast furnace in
Northern Sweden to an experimental
demonstration equipment plant with
a Water-Gas Shift system for CO
conversion and a SEWGS system to
produce a CO2 and a H2 stream. Three
stages have so far been completed,
adding to a total of more than 5000
regeneration cycles of the clay-
based material that, when adsorbed,
removes and releases the CO2 from
the off-gases. The SEWGS reactor is
10m high and contains several tonnes
of the adsorbent material that has
been produced on an industrial scale.
One of the main targets of the
pilot stages was to develop
the understanding of the heat
management for the entire process,
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23
COMMUNICATION
Main results of the STEPWISE project
100%
Project target Internal target
95%
CO2 purity [mol%] 90%
85%
80% Campaign 1: mapping
75% Campaign 2: optimization
75% 80% 85% 90% 95% 100%
Carbon capture ratio [-]
which is not possible at lab-scale. demonstration of a multi-column
This understanding is has now system that will allow more than
been achieved, and it has allowed 95% capture of the CO2 in the off-
gases, and produce a purity of more
of equipment, which has also than 95% continuously, instead
been costed. Additionally, a Life of in batches. Most of the utility
Cycle Analysis has shown that equipment used for the STEPWISE
the STEPWISE implementation of project can be reused, which provides
SEWGS has a smaller environmental considerable cost savings. Also the
footprint than other carbon capture productivity can be increased using
technologies. the single column system, the final
step before commercialisation.
The target for these early stages was SEWGS will then be ready, as the
to capture 80% of the CO2 in the blast legislation on CO2 emission catches
furnace gas and deliver it at a purity up with the requirements of a
of greater than 80%. This is a suitable decarbonised society.
target for a single column SEWGS
and it was easily matched with a low The STEPWISE project has received
steam-use. Steam is synonymous funding from the European Union’s
with an energy input and is needed in Horizon 2020 research and innovation
almost all CO2 capture technologies programme under grant agreement
for the regeneration of CO2. The No. 640769. l
STEPWISE project demonstrated that
less than 1 steam per CO2 captured More information of the
was used, compared to other STEPWISE project and SEWGS
technologies that can use up to 3 technology is available at
steams per CO2 captured. www.stepwise.eu
The Next Steps
The next steps to bring the SEWGS
technology to maturity will be the