Net Power announced today that it successfully fired up a pilot plant near Houston that takes an entirely new approach to capturing carbon dioxide. The news marks a critical first test for a system that promises an economical path to cutting greenhouse-
gas emissions.
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The 50-megawatt natural-gas facility will put carbon dioxide to work, using heat and pressure to turn it into a “working fluid” that drives a specially designed turbine. That replaces the traditional steam cycle in power plants. Excess amounts of the
gas can be siphoned off during the process, ready to ship and sell.
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The “first fire” shows that the combustion process and integrated system works, a validation of the basic approach.
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To date, adding systems that can capture emissions from power plants has been complicated and expensive, jacking up the cost of producing electricity. Net Power expects that after it builds a few commercial-scale plants, it will be able to beat the costs
of standard natural-gas plants.
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That means the technology could provide a cheap, clean, and flexible source of power for the grid, capable of ramping up and down with demand more easily than standard solar and wind plants can.
https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/611248/a-carbon-capture-game-changer-power-plant-just-passed-its-first-big-test/
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