Pilot Scale Testing of Polymeric Membranes for CO2 Capture from Coal Fired Power Plants

This paper summarizes the results obtained in Nanoglowa EU project using polymeric polyvinylamine fixed site carrier membranes developed at NTNU Norway for CO2 removal from flue gas. The pilot scale testing using real flue gas was performed at Sines power plant of EDP in Portugal. The aim of the project was CO2 separation from flue gas of coal fired power plants using membrane technology and involved several aspects: membrane up-scaling, material durability and pilot testing in a power plant. Gas permeation experiments and material analyses confirmed that the membrane material and separation performances were not affected negatively by exposure to synthetic and real flue gas contaminants. A pilot scale module having installed a 1.5 m2 of NTNU membrane was tested continuously for 6,5 months. The membranes showed constant separation performances with a maximum content of 75% CO2 in permeate and a permeate flow of 525 l/day. The performances were kept constant despite several challenges related to power plant operation such as high levels of NOx (600 mg/Nm3) and 200 mg/Nm3 SO2, and frequent power plant outages.