IFRF and other partner representatives from the EU funded RELCOM project spoke at the recent 3rd Oxyfuel Combustion Conference organized in Ponferrada, Spain by the International Energy Agency’s Greenhouse Gas R & D Programme. The three day event, which was hosted by the ‘Ciudad de la Energia’ (CIUDEN) research institute, attracted some 300 delegates.

In an overview of the conference published on the IEA Clean Coal Centre website, writer Toby Lockwood described CIUDEN’s pioneering oxyfuel pilot project which features a 20 MWt PC boiler and a 30 MWt circulating fluidised bed boiler demonstrating Foster Wheeler ‘Flexiburn’ technology which is the largest of its kind.  A plan for scale-up of this oxyCFB pilot to a 300 MW supercritical demonstration plant is currently awaiting an investment decision from the EU and Spain. 

According to Mr. Lockwood, the American Futuregen 2 project is closer to realization, having already received funding from the US government and other backers, as well as winning public approval for the transport and storage of the CO2 in a nearby saline aquifer.  Mr Lockwood says that this project, which is designed to achieve around 22% efficiency (higher heating value), looks set to become the world’s first oxyfuel demonstration plant upon commissioning scheduled for 2017.

Results from other important pilots were also presented at the conference, including the Callide 30 MWe PC project in Australia, which is currently the world’s largest and the first to generate electricity for the grid.  A keynote speech from Huazhong University provided an enlightening perspective on the rapid growth in carbon capture research in China, where a 35 MWt oxyfuel pilot is scheduled to be commissioned this year, and a demonstration plant proposed for 2018.

Details of the full programme are available on the IEA GHG website  along with the proceedings of the meeting which are freely available for download.

For quick access to only the RELCOM contributions, go to “Progress” in the public area of the RELCOM website.   

Read Toby Lockwood’s commentary on the event in its entirety.   

See related stories in this week’s edition of Combustion Industry News.