SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRANSPORTABLE ENERGY STORAGE AND CARBON CAPTURE

Abstract

There is provided a system for energy storage and CO.sub.2 capture. The system comprises CaO/CaCO.sub.3, a carbonator (1) adapted to react CaO with CO.sub.2 to produce CaCO.sub.3, at least one CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) for receiving and storing the CaCO.sub.3 produced in the carbonator (1), wherein the CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) is configured to be transportable such that the CaCO.sub.3 can be supplied to a geographical location (3) remote from the carbonator (1) for CO.sub.2 release.

Claims

1. A system for energy storage and CO.sub.2 capture comprising: CaO, a carbonator adapted to react CaO with CO.sub.2 to produce CaCO.sub.3, at least one CaCO.sub.3 storage container for receiving and storing the CaCO.sub.3 produced in the carbonator, characterized in that the CaCO.sub.3 storage container is configured to be transportable such that the CaCO.sub.3 can be supplied to a geographical location remote from the carbonator for CO.sub.2 release the system further comprising a calciner located at a geographical location remote from the carbonator and adapted to heat the CaCO.sub.3 of the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container to a temperature where CO.sub.2 is released to produce CaO, at least one CaO storage container for receiving and storing the CaO produced in the calciner, and at least one storage for released CO.sub.2, wherein the carbonator and calciner are located at least 0.5 km apart, and wherein the CaCO.sub.3 storage container is configured to be transportable so that it can be connected to, pulled along by or loaded into some kind of transportation device.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the CaO is coated with particles comprising SiO.sub.2, and wherein the particles comprising SiO.sub.2 have a diameter in the range 1-100 nm.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the CaO and CaCO.sub.3 are coated with particles comprising SiO.sub.2, and wherein the particles comprising SiO.sub.2 have a diameter in the range 1-100 nm.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the calciner has a capacity to produce CaO per hour which is at least 4 times larger than the capacity of the carbonator to consume CaO per hour, calculated by weight.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the carbonator and calciner are located at least 1 km apart.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein there is a plurality of carbonators.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein there are more carbonators than calciners.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container comprises lifting means for lifting and moving the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container comprises CaCO.sub.3 container input means for connecting the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container to the carbonator for supply of CaCO.sub.3 from the carbonator to the CaCO.sub.3 storage container, preferably in the form of quick-release input connection means.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the carbonator comprises carbonator CaCO.sub.3 output means for connecting the carbonator to the CaCO.sub.3 container input means of the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container for supply of CaCO.sub.3 from the carbonator to the CaCO.sub.3 storage container.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container comprises CaCO.sub.3 container output means for connecting the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container to the calciner for supply of CaCO.sub.3 in the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container to the calciner.

12. A method for storing energy and capturing CO.sub.2 comprising the steps of: connecting a transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container to a carbonator by connecting CaCO.sub.3 container input means of the CaCO.sub.3 storage container to carbonator CaCO.sub.3 output means of the carbonator, providing CO.sub.2 and CaO to the carbonator to capture CO.sub.2 and thereby producing CaCO.sub.3 and transferring the CaCO.sub.3 to the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container via said carbonator CaCO.sub.3 output means and CaCO.sub.3 container input means. transporting the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container to a remote geographical location, said transporting involving transporting the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container at least 0.5 km, said transporting further involving the CaCO.sub.3 storage container being connected to, pulled along by or loaded into some kind of transportation device, transferring the CaCO.sub.3 of the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container to a calciner, and supplying heat to the calciner to produce CO.sub.2 and CaO, transferring the CaO produced in step f to a transportable CaO storage container, transporting the CaO storage container to a carbonator for capturing CO.sub.2 and thereby producing CaCO.sub.3, storing the CO.sub.2 produced in step f.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the CaCO.sub.3 is coated with particles comprising SiO.sub.2, and wherein the particles comprising SiO.sub.2 have a diameter in the range 1-100 nm.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the CaO is coated with particles comprising SiO.sub.2, and wherein the particles comprising SiO.sub.2 have a diameter in the range 1-100 nm.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein step d involves transporting more than 1 km.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Aspects and embodiments will be described with reference to the following drawing in which:

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a system for energy storage and CO.sub.2 capture comprising CaO, a carbonator (1) adapted to react CaO with CO.sub.2 to produce CaCO.sub.3, at least one CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) for receiving and storing the CaCO.sub.3 produced in the carbonator (1). The CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) is configured to be transportable such that the CaCO.sub.3 can be supplied to a geographical location (3) remote from the carbonator (1) for CO.sub.2 release. The CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) is equipped with CaCO.sub.3 container input means (7) and CaCO.sub.3 container output means (9) as well as lifting means (6). The carbonator (1) is equipped with carbonator CaO input means (12) and carbonator CaCO.sub.3 output means (8). The carbonator (1) is equipped with CO.sub.2 input means.

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a system for energy storage and CO.sub.2 capture as in FIG. 1 and further comprising a calciner (4) located at a geographical location (3) remote from the carbonator (1) and adapted to heat the CaCO.sub.3 of the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) to a temperature where CO.sub.2 is released to produce CaO and at least one CaO storage container (5) for receiving and storing the CaO produced in the calciner (4). The CaO storage container (5) is equipped with CaO container input means (10) and CaO container output means (11). A loop as lifting means is shown on the CaO storage container (5). The calciner (4) is equipped with calciner CaCO.sub.3 input means (13) and calciner CaO output means (14). The calciner (4) is equipped with CO.sub.2 output means. Transportation of the containers between the carbonator (1) and the calciner (4) is indicated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Before the invention is disclosed and described in detail, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to particular configurations, process steps and materials disclosed herein as such configurations, process steps and materials may vary somewhat. It is also to be understood that the terminology employed herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting since the scope of the present invention is limited only by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

[0026] It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0027] “Energy storage” as used throughout the description and in the claims denote the storage of energy including storage of energy in chemical form and also storage of energy as heat energy, including storage in phase change materials.

[0028] “Largest size” of a volume or particle as used throughout the description and in the claims denote the largest distance between any two points on the surface of the volume or particle. Of all possible distances between two arbitrary points on the surface of the particle or volume, the largest possible distance is selected. For a sphere this corresponds to the diameter of the sphere.

[0029] “Particle” as used throughout the description and in the claims denote a piece of material in solid form.

[0030] “System” as used throughout the description and in the claims denote a combination of several devices.

[0031] In a first aspect there is provided a system for energy storage and CO.sub.2 capture comprising: [0032] CaO, [0033] a carbonator (1) adapted to react CaO with CO.sub.2 to produce CaCO.sub.3, [0034] at least one CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) for receiving and storing the CaCO.sub.3 produced in the carbonator (1),
characterized in that the CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) is configured to be transportable such that the CaCO.sub.3 can be supplied to a geographical location (3) remote from the carbonator (1) for CO.sub.2 release.

[0035] The CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) is configured to be transportable so that it can be connected to, pulled along by or loaded into some kind of transportation device such as a truck, a cargo train or a boat.

[0036] The CaCO.sub.3 is intended to be supplied to a geographical location (3) remote from the carbonator (1) for CO.sub.2 release. A geographical location (3) remote from the carbonator (1) is at another place, examples include but are not limited to at least 1 km away from the carbonator (1), and at least 10 km away from the carbonator (1). Thus in one embodiment the geographical location (3) remote from the carbonator (1) is 1 km or more away from the carbonator (1). A geographical location (3) remote from the carbonator (1) is to be interpreted so that the distance is so that the CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) should be transportable and so that it is not economically realistic to have another transportation means for the CaCO.sub.3, such as for instance a conveyor belt or a pipe. A remote geographical location is located as such a distance that a transportable storage container suitably is used. As an alternative this distance is at least 1 km, alternatively at least 10 km. The captured CO.sub.2 is released at the geographical location (3).

[0037] In the art, it is a problem that calciner are not very scalable and difficult to build in small scale. This is due to their complexity including many components and filters. Calciners are from a technical point of view easier to build in large scale. Carbonators on the other hand are much more scalable compared to calciners. Carbonators can more easily be made in small scale and the size and capacity of the carbonator can then be adapted to the need at the site where CO.sub.2 capture is needed.

[0038] Heat is released in the carbonator and the corresponding heat is consumed in the calciner. This is suitably used as an energy storage so that the carbonator gives an additional heat boost during operation. The calciner can be operated at hours when the energy cost is lower. Thereby an energy storing effect is achieved consuming energy when available and releasing heat energy when there is a need. The device releasing CO.sub.2 normally operates when there is a need for energy and then the carbonator is active giving an additional boost.

[0039] The CO.sub.2 which is captured can come from various sources, examples include but are not limited to flue gas and exhaust gas from combustion. Before the CO.sub.2 is captured the gas is preferably treated in filters and separators to remove for instance particulates, sulphur compounds and similar. Such filtration steps and separation steps before CO.sub.2 removal are known in the art.

[0040] In one embodiment the system further comprises [0041] a calciner (4) located at a geographical location (3) remote from the carbonator (1) and adapted to heat the CaCO.sub.3 of the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) to a temperature where CO.sub.2 is released to produce CaO and [0042] at least one CaO storage container (5) for receiving and storing the CaO produced in the calciner (4).

[0043] The CaCO.sub.3 storage containers (2) and the CaO storage containers (5) are not necessarily different, in one embodiment the same type of containers are utilized for both purposes.

[0044] In one embodiment, the CaO is coated with particles comprising SiO.sub.2, and wherein the particles comprising SiO.sub.2 have a diameter in the range 1-100 nm. In one embodiment the CaO and CaCO.sub.3 is coated with particles comprising SiO.sub.2, and wherein the particles comprising SiO.sub.2 have a diameter in the range 1-100 nm. In one embodiment hydrophobized SiO.sub.2 is used. For irregular particles the diameter should be interpreted as the largest size in any dimension. During repeated use of the material CaO/CaCO.sub.3 long term effects may occur including formation of crystals and other structural changes which impairs the reactivity of the material. The coating with particles comprising SiO.sub.2 ameliorates this problem. Further the coating makes the material easier to transport and handle since it flows easier. The coating comprises a layer of SiO.sub.2− particles on the surface of the particles of CaO/CaCO.sub.3. The coating is permeable to CO.sub.2. When the material in the particles change from CaO to CaCO.sub.3 and vice versa there is typically a volume change, but the coating of particles is able to adapt to the new volume of the particles as the material in the core changes between CaO and CaCO.sub.3. The particles of CaO/CaCO.sub.3 are larger than the particles comprising SiO.sub.2, in one embodiment 100-1000 times larger.

[0045] Both the CaO and/or the CaCO.sub.3 are provided in the form of particles. In one embodiment, the particles comprising CaO and/or CaCO.sub.3 have a largest size in the range 1-1000 μm. The largest size in the largest size measured in any dimension. For a sphere the largest size corresponds to the diameter.

[0046] In one embodiment, the calciner (4) has a capacity to produce CaO per hour, which is at least 4 times larger than the capacity of the carbonator (1) to consume CaO per hour, calculated by weight. In yet another embodiment the calciner (4) has a capacity to produce CaO per hour, which is at least 10 times larger than the capacity of the carbonator (1) to consume CaO per hour, calculated by weight. In one embodiment, there is a plurality of carbonators (1). This has the advantage that one calciner can serve several carbonators and that the carbonator can be adapted to the needed capacity at each location and that the capacity of the calciner can be optimally designed which is a large calciner.

[0047] In one embodiment the carbonator (1) and calciner (4) are located at least 1 km apart. In another embodiment the the carbonator (1) and calciner (4) are located at least 0.5 km apart. In another embodiment the carbonator (1) and calciner (4) are located at least 5 km apart. In another embodiment the carbonator (1) and calciner (4) are located at least 10 km apart.

[0048] In one embodiment wherein there are more carbonators (1) than calciners (4).

[0049] In one embodiment, the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) comprises lifting means (6) for lifting and moving the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2). The lifting means (6) can be any known feature allowing the container to be lifted and/or moved. Examples of lifting means include but are not limited to a hook, a loop, a handle, a flange, and a groove.

[0050] In one embodiment the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) comprises CaCO.sub.3 container input means (7) for connecting the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) to the carbonator (1) for supply of CaCO.sub.3 from the carbonator (1) to the CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2), preferably in the form of quick-release input connection means (7). A quick-release input connection can be released at short time and can be reused during many operation cycles. In one embodiment the CaCO.sub.3 container input means (7) is an opening in the top of the CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2).

[0051] In one embodiment the carbonator (1) comprises carbonator CaCO.sub.3 output means (8) for connecting the carbonator (1) to the CaCO.sub.3 container input means (7) of the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) for supply of CaCO.sub.3 from the carbonator (1) to the CaCO3 storage container (2).

[0052] In one embodiment, the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) comprises CaCO.sub.3 container output means (9) for connecting the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) to the calciner (4) for supply of CaCO.sub.3 in the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) to the calciner (4).

[0053] In a second aspect, there is provided a method for storing energy and capturing CO.sub.2 comprising the steps of: [0054] a. connecting a transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) to a carbonator (1) by connecting CaCO.sub.3 container input means (7) of the CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) to carbonator CaCO.sub.3 output means (8) of the carbonator (1), [0055] b. providing CO.sub.2 and CaO to the carbonator (1) to capture CO.sub.2 and thereby producing CaCO.sub.3 and [0056] c. transferring the CaCO.sub.3 to the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) via said carbonator CaCO.sub.3 output means (8) and CaCO.sub.3 container input means (7).

[0057] The CO.sub.2 provided in step b) is provided from any stream comprising CO.sub.2, preferably from a stream comprising an increased concentration of CO.sub.2 such as at least 10 wt %, preferably at least 15 wt % or higher. The CO.sub.2 can originate form an industrial process generating CO.sub.2 including for instance combustion of a carbon containing fuel.

[0058] In one embodiment, the method further comprises the steps of: [0059] d. transporting the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) to a remote geographical location (3), [0060] e. transferring the CaCO.sub.3 of the transportable CaCO.sub.3 storage container (2) to a calciner (4), and [0061] f. supplying heat to the calciner (4) to produce CO.sub.2 and CaO.

[0062] In one embodiment, the method further comprises the steps of: [0063] g. transferring the CaO produced in step f to a transportable CaO storage container (5), [0064] h. transporting the CaO storage container (5) to a carbonator (1) for capturing CO.sub.2 and thereby producing CaCO.sub.3.

[0065] Thereby the loop is closed so that the material CaO/CaCO.sub.3. can be recycled.

[0066] In one embodiment of the method it further comprises the step of storing the CO.sub.2 produced in step f. The CO.sub.2 can be stored in the bedrock including bedrock comprising lime. Over the years, most of the CO.sub.2 will then mineralize and stay in the bedrock.

[0067] The embodiments of the system are also applicable to the method.

[0068] In one embodiment of the method step d involves transporting more than 1 km.