HUNOSA, ENDESA and CSIC will build a pilot plant for carbon dioxide capture in coal combustion
28 December 2009 |
The company HUNOSA, which belongs to the SEPI Group, will start, together with the power company ENDESA and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Spanish National Research Council, or CSIC), through the Instituto del Carbón (Coal Institute, or INCAR), the third stage of the project for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, with the construction of a 1 MWt experimental facility at La Pereda (Mieres), beside the coal power plant.
The above mentioned pilot facility, which will be operative at the start of 2011, will make possible to carry out experimental tests for determining whether the technology for CO2 capture in combustion gases based on the carbonation-calcination method is efficient and financially feasible for its potential future use in industrial and commercial applications.
The multinational company Foster Wheeler (FWESA) also collaborates in the project, as the technological partner; the first two phases of the project have already been completed, and have consisted in laboratory tests. These tests have produced 'encouraging results', as was pointed out by CSIC's Chairman, Mr. Rafael Rodrigo, during the project's presentation.
The Chairman of the state-owned industrial holding company Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI), Mr. Enrique Martínez Robles, was among those present during this presentation. He highlighted the significance of the fact that public entities and private companies can reach agreements for developing techniques which can solve one of the most important problems, as is that of the emissions of the greenhouse gases.
He also mentioned the role played by coal as an energy source, stating that its contribution to the power mix will be important in the future, the reason why he thinks it important to find a solution to the most pressing problem poised by its use, the high level of greenhouse gases emissions.
In the meeting, which took place in the head offices of the Instituto del Carbón, at La Corredoria (Oviedo), were also present HUNOSA's Chairman, Mr. Juan Ramón García Secades and Endesa's Head of Power Generation, Mr. Manuel Morán.
More information: http://www.hunosa.es/