As part of the Carbon Capture Large-Scale Pilot Projects federal funding program, the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded nearly $5 million to a project located at the Dry Fork Power Station—Basin Electric’s coal-fired power plant in Wyoming.
This location is home to the Wyoming Integrated Test Center (ITC), built to research and advance the field of carbon management by providing a testing environment with 20 MW of coal-based flue gas.
The center will now host the pilot CO2 capture project created by industrial research firm TDA Research and Schlumberger Technology Corp.
As shared by the DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), the researchers will work on constructing a carbon capture mechanism using TDA’s highly stable, low-cost sorbent-based technology in a vacuum and concentration swing adsorption process.
Aiming to reach a capture capacity of more than 90% of carbon dioxide emissions generated from coal flue exhaust at high purity (+95%), the team hopes to establish a mechanism that could ultimately capture up to 158,000 metric tons of CO2 per year.
Project development is currently at Phase 1, where a front-end engineering design (FEED) study will help determine specific details for the capture process. The research team will also consider carbon storage through Wyoming CarbonSAFE, as well as other possibilities for emissions offtake.
Activities at this stage include staff planning, permit arrangements, and information sharing with the National Environmental Policy Act review process. In the long run, the project will also work on cultivating reliable relationships for delivering community benefits at later growth stages.
Relevant: Wyoming CarbonSAFE Project Drills A Second Deep Test Well
This project in Wyoming is one of four initiatives shortlisted by the OCED for award negotiation under the Carbon Capture Large-Scale Pilot Projects Program, supported by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
While the funding for the Dry Fork project is now approved, the remaining candidates, including a carbon capture pilot in Louisville, Kentucky, a second one in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and one more in Big Spring, Texas, are still being reviewed.
Read more: DOE Awards TDA Research Up To $49M Funding For CO2 Capture
