An Update on RTI s Warm Syngas Cleanup Demonstration Project 2014 Gasification Technologies Council Conference October 28, 2014 David L. Denton RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute. www.rti.org
Executive Summary 2 RTI has developed and is now demonstrating at near-commercial scale an advanced warm syngas desulfurization process (WDP) at temperatures as high as 1100 F. The WDP technology can achieve greater than 99.8-99.9% total sulfur removal. Key to the technology is a proprietary regenerable sorbent that can be used in a very rapid, small footprint transport reactor system with excellent attrition resistance. RTI s WDP technology can: Integrate synergistically with most CO 2 removal technologies (e.g., amines, activated amines, Selexol, Rectisol, solid sorbents, membranes) to enable them to meet syngas purity requirements for ultra-clean power and chemicals/fuels applications, Provide reduced capital costs for syngas cleanup (~30-35% lower than conventional technologies) in either a standalone or integrated approach, Provide reduced overall operating costs, and Provide higher overall process efficiencies. The technology will be ready for commercial deployment in 2015 and RTI is now seeking a suitable commercial partner(s).
RTI International Turning Knowledge Into Practice Developing advanced process technologies for energy applications by partnering with industry leaders One of the world s leading research organizations Syngas / Clean Coal Industrial Water Carbon Capture and Utilization Natural Gas Biomass and Biofuels 3
RTI PILOT PLANT TEST UNITS AT EASTMAN COAL GASIFICATION PLANT RTI Warm Syngas Cleanup Technology Platform Sulfur Hg adsorbents (disposable) Regenerable ZnO sorbents Transport reactor As adsorbents (disposable) Direct Sulfur Recovery Process Se adsorbents (disposable) HCl adsorbents (disposable) Regenerable NH 3 /HCN adsorbents Regenerable CO 2 sorbents PRE-COMMERCIAL DEMO PROJECT w/cc UNDERWAY AT TAMPA ELECTRIC SITE 4 Enhance overall process efficiency and lower costs by operating at temperatures of 250ºC to 600ºC with small footprints! Pressure independent Effective for all forms of sulfur Fully compatible with conventional and warm CO 2 capture Flexible modular approach meets: New EPA electric power generation specifications Industrial production specifications Systems tested on actual coal-based syngas 50-MWe demo project with carbon capture at Tampa Electric s Polk 1 IGCC site
From Lab to Large Scale Demonstration Invention (2001) Proprietary RTI sorbent R&D 100 Award (2004) Lab/bench testing (2001-2003) RTI, NC Concept proven & modeled Pilot testing (2006-2008) Eastman Chemical Co., TN 3000 hr, coal-derived syngas Demonstration (2010-2015): Syngas cleanup / carbon capture Tampa Electric Co., Polk 1 IGCC site, FL 50 MW e equivalent scale, coal/petcoke-derived syngas 5
RTI Warm Syngas Transport Desulfurization Process (WDP) ZnO + H 2 S ZnS + H 2 O ZnO + COS ZnS + CO 2 (250-600 C) (pressure independent) ZnS + 3/2O 2 ZnO+SO 2 (650-750 C) CLEAN SYNGAS SO 2 / N 2 TO SULFUR RECOVERY ADSORBER (REACTOR) REGENERATOR (REACTOR) Pilot Plant Summary of Parametric Testing (more than 3,000 hours of syngas operation) Pressure, psig 300 450 600 Inlet S, ppmv 8,661 7,023 8,436 Effluent S, ppmv 5.9 10.7 5.7 REGENERATED SORBENT REGENERATED SORBENT TO ADSORBER MIXING ZONE Range, ppmv 0.4 9 2.4-21 3.3 18 S Absorbed, lbs/hr 4.1 4.4 5.0 S Removal, % 99.93 99.82 99.90 6 RAW SYNGAS N 2 /O 2 (Air) RTI Warm Desulfurization Process (WDP) Observed attrition rate: 31 lbs per million lbs of sorbent circulated (< 50 was target goal) Tested to 1200 psig at ChevronTexaco R&D site
RTI Warm Syngas Desulfurization Demonstration Project Desulfurization System Demonstration Project Team Role CO 2 Capture WGS Reactors RTI Tampa Electric Shaw Group, AMEC CH2M Hill BASF Clariant DOE/NETL Project management; technology developer Host site and operations support Engineering (Shaw - FEED, AMEC - EPC) Owner s engineer Technology (amdea ) for CO 2 capture Produces sulfur sorbent & WGS catalysts Funding agency; project consultation Project Detail: Combined syngas cleanup / water-gasshift / carbon capture demonstration $168.8M (DOE ARRA funding) to design, construct, operate 50 MW e equivalent scale; captures > 90% of CO 2 Eastman Chemical Development partner; technical support Project Objective: Demonstrate RTI s Warm Syngas Clean-up technology with integrated carbon capture at pre-commercial scale at an operating gasification plant 7
Integration of Syngas Cleaning and Carbon Capture Systems at Tampa Site WDP Sweet WGS Reactors Syngas Cooling amdea CO 2 Recovery Air Air Separation Oxygen Coal/Petcoke GE Gasifier (~400 psig) Slag Syngas Cooling Char Syngas Diluent (N 2 ) Demonstration Project Scope Scrubbers COS Hydrolysis Process Condensate Syngas Cooling Regenerator Gas MDEA Reheat/ Humidify Clean Fuel Gas Currently vented, but could be sequestered or used or recycled Sulfuric Acid Plant Acid Gas Sulfuric Acid Extraction Air 8% H 2 O 8 ~ ~ 128 Mwe (122 Mwe) Raw Syngas Process Clean 20% slipstream test (~50 MW Water Fuel Gas e ) enables direct commercial scale-up from this demonstration scale
RTI Demonstration Project Status Initial project approved by DOE in 2010. FEED, permitting, and legal agreements completed by mid-2012. Construction mobilized in October, 2012 (AMEC as EPC contractor). Mechanical completion achieved in early 2014 (on schedule). Mechanical completion was reached substantially under budget. >470,000 labor hours without an OSHA-recordable or lost time injury. Commissioning started in Fall 2013 and completed in Spring 2014. Plant operations are now underway WDP unit is performing as expected using coal/petcoke-derived syngas from Tampa Electric s Polk 1 IGCC. Demonstration testing to wrap-up by late-2015; ready for commercial deployment at that time. 9
Demonstration Plant Site Location Pre-Construction TEC Polk 1 IGCC Site Sept 30, 2012 10
RTI 50-MWe Warm Syngas Cleanup Demonstration Project - Construction Warm Syngas Desulfurization Process (WDP) Equipment Completed Construction 50-MWe Demonstration Project Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony April 9, 2014 11 Water-Gas-Shift (WGS) Reactors amdea Carbon Capture Unit
Demo Plant Operations Performance to Date Achieved ~ 2,000 hours of RTI-3 sorbent circulation. Sorbent attrition rate is in line with expectations (less than design rate and substantially lower than for commercial FCC catalysts). Consistently achieving greater than 99.8-99.9% total sulfur removal (for both H 2 S and COS). Sorbent sulfur capacity has been steady, with no signs to date of deactivation. Cleaned syngas has been sent to the Tampa Electric (TEC) syngas turbine without issue. Regenerator off-gas has been sent to the TEC sulfuric acid plant without issue. The WDP system is currently able to run in stable steady-state operation with minimal operator intervention. RTI plans to bring the activated amine system on-line for carbon capture in the near future. Slip-stream micro-reactors will be utilized to test the cleaned syngas for production of chemicals and fuels (e.g., methanol and F-T). 12
WDP Demonstration Plant Sulfur Removal 13
WDP Demonstration Plant Adsorber Operation 14
WDP Demonstration Plant Regenerator Operation 15
Commercial Impact of RTI Warm Syngas Cleanup Technology Conversion to clean power, DRI, or chemicals/fuels Typical ISBL Equivalent Capital Cost Capital Breakdown Costs 2:1 Syngas Syngas Cleanup is a Significant Cost Driver Coal/Pet Coke ASU Gasification Efficiency Improvements Reduce All Elements of Cost CO 2 Compression SRU/TGTU AGR Cooling Train Shift Reactor RTI Technology Reduces Cost and Improves Efficiency! 16 Graphics Source: Eastman Chemical Company
Competitive Position of RTI Warm Syngas Cleanup Technology Previous 2007 study by Nexant indicated significant (10-15% or more) advantages of RTI s warm syngas cleanup technology for IGCC applications RTI Technology Benefits IGCC w/o CC Increases overall IGCC efficiency ~10% Dispatches ~10% more power Reduces IGCC capex/kw ~15% Reduces LCOE ~10% Reduces water consumption ~25% Reduces wastewater ~60% Reduces high-pressure N 2 used by ~40% Actual cost data from the demo plant indicates that these previously estimated benefits are conservative. A new Nexant study is now underway (including CC). 17
Competitive Position of RTI Warm Syngas Cleanup Technology Ongoing 3 rd -party validated studies show potential for significant advantages of RTI s warm syngas cleanup technology for chemicals/fuels applications RTI Technology Benefits Chemicals Substantially reduces capex for AGR/SRU Decouples S and CO 2 removal, with benefits Integrates with most CO 2 capture processes to achieve S reductions adequate for use in chemicals/fuels applications at lower costs & higher overall process efficiencies Reduces overall water footprint Increases efficiency in coal usage - same product volumes with less feedstock 18
Competitive Position of RTI Warm Syngas Cleanup Technology Techno-economic analyses: 600MW equiv methanol, dual solids-fed gasifiers, PRB coal Base Case: sour WGS, syngas cooling, Rectisol, Claus/SCOT SRU WDP Cases: WDP + sweet WGS + syngas cooling + CC + SRU 19
RTI WDP Technology Can Expand Markets for Conventional AGR Typical/Suitable Applications Amines RTI WDP (w/ or (incl. amdea) Selexol Rectisol w/o CC) Powergen w/o CC Powergen w/ CC H 2 or NH 3 /Urea Chemicals (e.g., MeOH, F-T, SNG) * CC = Carbon dioxide capture 20
Summary RTI s warm syngas cleanup technology offers opportunities to both improve efficiency and significantly reduce costs of gasification for power generation and chemicals/fuels applications. RTI s WDP has potential to integrate with most CO 2 removal technologies (e.g., amines, activated amines, Selexol, Rectisol, sorbents) to enable them to meet syngas purities for chemicals/fuels applications while simultaneously providing reduced costs and higher overall efficiencies. RTI achieved mechanical completion of the 50-MW e pre-commercial demonstration plant for its WDP technology (coupled with carbon capture) on schedule and under budget. The WDP demonstration unit is currently running steadily at expected performance levels with low attrition rates. RTI plans to bring the demo plant carbon capture system on-line in the near future. The full demo plant is expected to run through at least late-2015 and will provide critical data and information to support successful commercial deployment of the technology. 21 RTI is now seeking a suitable commercial partner(s).
Acknowledgements 22 Co-Authors/Contributors: Ben Gardner, Raghubir Gupta, Vijay Gupta, Markus Lesemann, Himanshu Paliwal, Pradeep Sharma, Brian Turk DOE/NETL: Jenny Tennant, David Lyons, Sam Tam, Pete Rozelle, Gary Stiegel Development and Project Partners: Tampa Electric Company Eastman Chemical Company Shaw Energy & Chemicals (now Technip) AMEC Kamtech, Inc. CH2M Hill BASF Clariant
QUESTIONS? Contact: David L. Denton Sr. Director, Business Development RTI International ddenton@rti.org 919-485-2609 (work) 423-384-6217 (cell) RTI Warm Syngas Demonstration Project 23