ECO2™ Background

During the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels such as coal or gasoline, carbon dioxide (CO2) is formed and released. Unlike other regulated pollutants that are generally trace contaminants, carbon dioxide is the preferred product of combustion, with its formation resulting in much of the energy released in the combustion process. It is also produced in much greater concentrations than the other emissions, generally making up from 5% to 20% of the combustion exhaust gas.

While CO2 emissions from power plants are currently unregulated at the Federal level, there is a growing consensus that standards limiting CO2 emissions are likely to be promulgated within the next five years.  CO2 emissions from the electric power sector account for 40 percent of total U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions.  Coal is America’s most abundant fuel supply and with 50 percent of U.S. electricity generated from coal and many new coal-fueled electric generating plants in the planning, permitting, or construction stages, it is becoming increasingly important that CO2 capture solutions are developed which are suitable for the existing fleet of coal-burning power plants, as well as for planned, new capacity. 

Today, limited CO2 capture technologies are commercially available for use on coal-fueled power plants, and none has been deployed at the scale of the typical based-loaded plant.  In addition, existing CO2 capture solutions have capital and operating costs that are considered uneconomical for conventional coal-fueled power plants.