Hopes are that this method would ease transportation of CO₂ to storage sites and thereby accelerate the roll out of CO₂ Capture and Storage (CCS) in Europe.

The illustration to the left (from SINTEF Energi) shows how the CO₂ can be separated from gasified coal. The remaining hydrogen rich gas can be used in combustion, the emissions of which will then be largely CO₂ free. While the project’s research centred on this case, minor adaptations to the method could also render it applicable to regular coal and gas fired power plants as well as in industrial production of cement, iron and steel. Researchers estimate that the studied cooling solution can cut energy consumption and costs of CO₂ capture with 30 per cent.

CCS in Europe faces a number of hurdles before roll-out, one of which is transport. Most capture technologies result in CO₂ in gas form. Most discussions about transport therefore revolve around pipelines (the construction of which can be caught up protracted corporate and political decision making processes). The cooling method could reduce the immediate need for pipelines as it eases transportation by for example ship.

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Source: Bellona, News Archive, 15 Jan 2014