Energy futuresGerman-Japanese collaboration on carbon dioxide recovery

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and German energy giant E.ON plan jointly to test a system for recovering carbon dioxide (CO₂) from flue-gas emissions at a coal-fired power plant in Germany. The CO₂ recovery system — to be added to one of E.ON’s existing plants — will be capable of capturing 100 metric tons of CO₂ per day. The system includes a flue-gas cooling tower, a CO₂ absorption tower using MHI’s KS-1 solvent, and a CO₂ desorption tower for separating the CO₂ from the absorbent. One feature of MHI’s CO₂ recovery system is that it is claimed to use less energy than its competitors. In Japan, a testing plant capable of recovering ten tons of CO₂ per day using the MHI process has been operating at a coal-fired power generation plant in Nagasaki since July 2006. Tests conducted at the German plant will focus mainly on reducing the amount of energy consumed in the CO₂ recovery process, and will be conducted over a period of two years at a cost of €10 million.

Operation of the plant is due to commence in earnest early in 2010.