Carbon dioxide separation

Vattenfall and the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy recently entered into an agreement with an industrial syndicate to participate in a test installation for carbon dioxide separation.

The project will take place at the European CO2 Test Centre in Mongstad, Norway. Vattenfall will contribute 20 per cent of the costs of a preliminary study for a pilot plant to test a technology for separation and storage of CO2 from power plants on a commercial scale.

The project will employ post-combustion technology at a new gas-fired power station in Monstad with an output of 280MW of electricity and 350MW of heating as well as on gases from the refinery there.

The present agreement covers a first phase to produce the basic information needed for a large pilot plant. The plant will produce 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide, which will be stored under the North Sea. The pilot plant is due to be ready in 2010, after which the full-scale plant will be built. The present agreement does not yet detail the later stages.