[월간수소경제 이종수 기자] Since the Paris Climate Change Agreement was adopted in 2015, international efforts have been made to reduce greenhouse gases. As a means of implementing carbon neutrality declared by countries around the world, in terms of energy supply, there are renewable energy and green hydrogen associated with it.
Until now, most efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have focused on the conversion to renewable energy. However, a considerable amount of time and resources are required for the complete conversion to renewable energy. Green hydrogen also needs renewable energy to be activated, and technology development is needed to improve efficiency and economic efficiency.
Accordingly, the technology (CCUS) that captures and processes (stores and utilizes) carbon dioxide emitted from thermal power plants and steel mills (CCUS) is attracting attention as a bridge technology in this energy conversion process.
The importance of CCUS technology in the field of hydrogen production is expected to increase as the hydrogen economy is promoted in earnest with the implementation of the hydrogen law.
Carbon neutral core technology’CCUS’
According to the ‘2020 CO2 Conversion (CCU) Technical White Paper’ published by the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, CCUS captures carbon dioxide emitted from thermal power plants, steel mills, cement factories, etc., and then compresses and transports carbon dioxide to be stored underground or under the sea, or with high added value. It is a technology that recycles into compounds. It can be classified into CCS (Carbon Capture & Storage), which is a collection and storage technology, and CCU (Carbon Capture & Utilization), which is a collection and recycling technology.
In particular, CCU technology is attracting great attention worldwide. This is because the captured carbon dioxide can be used as a raw material for products with potential market value.
CCU technology can be largely divided into a non-conversion direct application technology that does not chemically or biologically convert carbon dioxide as it is, and a conversion technology that converts carbon dioxide into various useful products.
The fields of direct use of non-conversion of carbon dioxide include crop yield improvement (greenhouse, seaweed, urea and fertilizer), solvent utilization (improvement of oil recovery, caffeine removal, dry cleaning), heat transfer fluid for cooling and refrigeration, food and beverage production, welding, medical use, etc. Can be mentioned.
Conversion applications include fuels such as methane, methanol, gasoline, diesel, and aviation oil, as well as the manufacture of a wide range of organic materials such as plastics, fibers, and synthetic rubber, as well as various platform chemicals (intermediates), such as organic acids such as methanol, ethylene, and formic acid, and construction materials ( Aggregate, cement, concrete), etc. are mentioned.
According to the 2019 IEA data, the market for these carbon dioxide products globally amounts to 230 million tonnes (Mt) per year. The largest market is the fertilizer industry, with 1.3 million tonnes being used per year, followed by 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes in the field of improving oil recovery.
CCUS technology development status
According to the ‘2020 CO2 Conversion (CCU) Technical White Paper’ co-authored by domestic research institutes and academic circles such as the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Korea Institute of Energy Research, Korea University, Kyungpook National University, etc., carbon dioxide capture technologies include wet, dry, There are separation membrane and air trapping technology, and wet trapping technology is representative.
Wet capture technology is a technology that separates the CO2 liquid contained in the gas by utilizing the difference in gas solubility according to Henry’s Law when CO2 comes into contact with the liquid or the acid-base neutralization reaction between the liquid absorbent and CO2. It can be mainly applied to facilities that generate large amounts of carbon dioxide such as cement plants and petrochemical plants.
It is evaluated that Japan Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is leading the world overwhelmingly. It has 11 commercialization records and is operating the world’s largest (4,776 tonnes or more per day) plant.
Research and development of domestic carbon dioxide capture technology began in earnest in the early 2000s. For the government-level CCS source technology development, the’Korea CCS 2020 project’ was conducted from November 2011 to May 2000. Wet collection demonstration plant (0.5MW, Western Power Taean Thermal Power Plant), dry collection demonstration plant (0.5MW) , Daegu Dyeing Industrial Complex Thermal Power Plant).
KEPCO Research Institute has installed and tested 180 ton class (10 MW) facilities per day in Boryeong Thermal Power Plant of Central Power Plant using its own developed absorbent’KOSOL’, and cross-functional test with China’s Huaneung Group (400 ton class process per day) from April 2017. In progress.
Korea Institute of Energy Research has been developing an accelerated potassium carbonate-based technology called’KIERSOL’ since 2006. /Day), East-West Power Dangjin Thermal Power (2.5 tons CO2/day) and technology development are in progress. Since 2011, we have been working with Kyunghee University and Sogang University to install and research wet technology using MAB in the Taean Thermal Power Plant (10 tons CO2/day) of Western Power.
The Pohang Institute of Industrial Science and Technology installed a CO2 capture process using ammonia water in POSCO in 2011 to conduct research in connection with mineralization conversion.
Dry capture technology is a technology that selectively captures carbon dioxide contained in combustion flue gas emitted from energy conversion systems such as power plants, boilers, and incinerators using fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas, etc.) using solid particles.
In Korea, the Korea Electric Power Research Institute is promoting the development of a dry carbon dioxide capture process, and with the support of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, a 10 MWe-class dry capture plant is installed and operated in Unit 8 of the Hadong Thermal Power Plant of Korea Southern Power.
The Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology is developing energy-exchange fluidized bed carbon dioxide capture technology with the support of the Korea Carbon Dioxide Capture and Treatment Research and Development Center (KCRC), and is operating a 0.5 MWe-class demonstration plant in the Daegu Dyeing Complex.
As a national project, Korea Institute of Energy Research is developing a new dry absorbent capable of reducing renewable energy and developing a carbon dioxide capture process in the moving bed through a matching project with the University of Nottingham.
The separation membrane capture technology is a technology that collects carbon dioxide from the combustion gas using a separation membrane that selectively permeates it.
In Korea, the Ministry of Science and ICT’s CDRS and KCRC project teams are promoting the development of innovative membrane materials and membrane collection processes. The recently developed polymer and ceramic separators show the world’s best separation performance, and achieve 90% recovery and 90% carbon dioxide purity in a small pilot demonstration.
KEPCO and Astroma Co., Ltd. have jointly developed a polymer membrane capture process and are conducting technology demonstrations at the Dangjin Thermal Power Plant and the Mauban City Thermal Power Plant in the Philippines.
Korea’s carbon dioxide capture technology has secured world-class technology centered on wet and dry, but storage technology development is sluggish.
According to the data presented by Dr. Yeo-Il Yoon, Korea Institute of Energy Research, the potential scale of CO2 storage in Korea is 1.5~1.8 billion tons in the Jeju, Gunsan and Pohang basins. Until now, with the support of the Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the development of onshore storage (Pohang long-term basin) and offshore underground storage (offshore of Yeongil Bay) has been discontinued.
In the case of underground storage in the Pohang long-term basin, after completion of the drilling of an observation well and installation of a monitoring system, it was suspended due to opposition from local residents while promoting the 10,000 ton class per year.
The second phase of underground storage project in Pohang Yeongil Bay (June 2016-December 2019), promoted by Daesung Industrial Gas, was also stopped during the 10,000-ton level a year after completion of the 100-ton demonstration.
The domestic carbon dioxide conversion technology is largely divided into three areas: chemical conversion, mineralization, and biological conversion.
In the field of chemical conversion, Chemical Research Institute, Energy Research Institute, Seoul National University of Korea Electric Power Research Institute, Institute of Science and Technology, Korea University, Ajou University, and Kookmin University are jointly developing catalysts and reaction systems for synthesis such as acetic acid, polymer, and alcohol, and it is necessary to secure economic feasibility.
In the field of mineralization, research is being conducted by Jijayon, Korea Energy Research Institute, Institute of Science and Technology, Pohang Institute of Industrial Science and Technology, Sungshin Yanghoe, and Daewoo E&C. It is necessary to overcome the shortcomings of small market size.
The field of bioconversion is being researched by universities and district heating corporations, and it is necessary to secure economic feasibility.
At the government level, the demonstration project began in earnest from 2017.
First, the development of core technologies for the next generation of carbon resources supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology and supervised by the Research Institute of Chemical Technology is in progress. To this end, the Carbon Conversion Project Team is promoting a demonstration of technology to produce chemical raw materials (methanol, diesel, plastics) by separating and utilizing carbon (CO, CH4) from industrial by-product gases in connection with the Jeonnam Industrial Complex.
In addition, the’carbon resource technology advancement project’ supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology is in progress.
The Carbon Mineralization Project Team, managed by the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, is conducting a demonstration of the process of producing carbonate by reacting low-concentration CO2 of combustion flue gas with cations extracted from industrial by-products such as power generation ash, and then using it for waste mine fill material and eco-friendly papermaking.
In addition, the’Plasma-Utilizing Carbon Resource Technology Development and Thermal Power Plant Linkage Plant Demonstration Project’, hosted by Hyojin Autotech, was launched in June 2019. This is a project to demonstrate the technology of producing synthetic gas by reacting CO2 collected from combustion flue gas with CH4 and low-temperature plasma using the liquid phase capture technology (KIERSOL) of the Korea Institute of Energy Research.
Last year, the’Carbon to X Technology Development’ project was launched to secure carbon dioxide biochemical conversion technology.
Promotion of CCUS technology commercialization
Currently, among the private companies that have carbon dioxide capture technology, there are Hyundai/Kia Motors, Kisan and Narin Technology. All of them have been transferred to carbon dioxide capture technology independently developed by Dr. Yeo-il Yoon’s team at the Korea Institute of Energy Research (hereinafter referred to as the Korea Energy Research Institute).
The core of the energy smoked carbon dioxide capture technology is to allow carbon dioxide to pass through a liquid absorbent before exiting the chimney, selectively absorbing only carbon dioxide from the mixed gas, and then applying heat again to regenerate the liquid absorbent and store the separated carbon dioxide underground. have.
In particular, it has built up all process design package technologies such as basic design, detailed design, engineering data and equipment list so that companies can apply it to the workplace immediately.
Energy Research Institute transferred its technology to Hyundai and Kia Motors for the first time in 2012. At that time, Energy Research’s carbon dioxide capture process technology (KIERSOL) received great attention by lowering the energy required for absorbent regeneration by 20% compared to the world-class carbon dioxide capture technology brand of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan,’KS Series’.
Energy Research Institute transferred its technology to Kisan in 2015 and Narin Technology in 2018.
With the support of KEPCO, Astroma is developing and commercializing the source technology for carbon dioxide capture membranes. Construction of a 10,000m2 carbon dioxide capture plant is underway next to the Quezon Power thermal power plant in Mauban City, Philippines.
Astroma’s membrane capture technology uses the difference in the size of molecules to filter carbon dioxide from the gases emitted by thermal power plants. This is a method of injecting mixed gas to the outside of the separation membrane and recovering CO2 from the inside of the membrane. It is evaluated that the cost of the separator is low, the device is simple, and there is little energy consumption, so it is advantageous to increase the size and mass production.
In Korea, this technology was applied to the world’s largest carbon dioxide separation membrane demonstration plant at Dangjin Thermal Power Plant.
Sungil SIM is pursuing commercialization by transferring’carbon electrode material manufacturing technology through carbon dioxide conversion’ from KAIST in 2016.
Professor Jaewoo Lee’s research team (KAIST) succeeded in developing a technology capable of converting carbon dioxide even under low energy conditions of 500℃ and 1 atmosphere through the national project’Korea CCS 2020′.
This technology uses sodium borohydride (hereinafter referred to as NaBH4), which has a strong reducing power, to build a low-energy and low-cost production process that is less than 1/10 compared to the existing technology, as well as carbon material doped with boron (B) during the conversion process to store electrons. This is improved, and a high value-added carbon electrode material that can be used as an electrode material is produced.
Seongil SIM plans to enter the domestic and foreign fuel cell, supercap and various battery electrode material markets by building a mass production facility applying the transferred technology.
Hyojin Autotech is a company that has recently attracted attention. Hyojin Autotech entered the carbon resource conversion business by signing an Emission Blade manufacturing agreement with ReCarbon, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as ReCarbon) in 2016.
Emission Blade, manufactured by Hyojin Autotech, is a technology that decomposes greenhouse gases in a plasma state using microwave energy, and the technical team of ReCarbon, CEO Joong-Soo Kim, in Silicon Valley, USA, started technology development in 2011 and has entered the commercialization stage. .
The plasma carbon conversion device developed by ReCarbon has an optimized energy transfer structure with high energy efficiency, uses an inexpensive magnetron as a plasma operating at atmospheric pressure, and a container-type module structure makes it easy to expand a large capacity.
Hyojin Autotech started its business in earnest by manufacturing, supplying, and installing Emission Blade, a key device, in a pilot plant with a capacity of 220tCO2/year built by ReCarbon at the food waste treatment plant in Sangri-dong, Daegu in 2018.
In addition, Hyojin Autotech is carrying out the project as a general promotion agency for the’Plasma-Utilizing Carbon Resource Technology Development and Thermal Power Plant Linkage Plant Demonstration Project’, which is a carbon resource conversion technology advancement project of the Ministry of Science and ICT.
Currently, a demonstration plant is being built on a site of approximately 640m² at the Dangjin Thermal Power Plant of Korea East-West Power Plant. It captures carbon dioxide emitted from the coal-fired power plant and converts it to hydrogen through plasma reaction with methane (CH4) to reduce greenhouse gases and to use eco-friendly hydrogen. It aims to develop technology that can be produced. Currently, major facilities such as a collection device, a plasma conversion device, and a gas separation device to be installed in the demonstration plant have been completed.
Hyojin Autotech is also engaged in a hydrogen-carbon convergence business that combines the carbon resource conversion technology with the extraction hydrogen production and hydrogen fuel cell power generation process. Through this project, it is expected to be able to solve the problem of carbon dioxide generated in the extraction hydrogen manufacturing process.
Meanwhile, ReCarbon, which developed plasma-based CCU technology, is promoting the construction of a commercial plant in Tennessee with H2Renewables, a green hydrogen business partner in the United States.
ReCarbon completed the construction and commissioning of the plant at the Bradley County Landfill site at the end of 2020 with an annual carbon dioxide reduction scale of approximately 165 tons, and is currently in continuous operation, and is capable of processing carbon dioxide equivalent to 11,000 tons of carbon dioxide discharged from landfill by 2022. It is planning to expand and build the existing plant.
Hydrogen economy CCUS wind blows
In the future, the use of CCUS technology is expected to increase in the field of hydrogen economy. This is because the hydrogen production base construction project is being promoted based on the mass supply of hydrogen.
In the short term, the government plans to build a total of 40 small-scale hydrogen production bases for on-site hydrogen charging stations (total 14,000 tons) by 2025. Currently, six units are being built, including Samcheok, Pyeongtaek, Changwon, and Busan.
It is planned to build a medium-sized hydrogen production base in areas where by-product hydrogen is empty. Considering short-term hydrogen demand, first of all, construction projects are underway in Gwangju (Honam region) and Changwon (Gyeongnam region) from last year with the goal of completion of each unit by 2022. In addition, from 2023, it plans to promote additional construction in the central and Gangwon areas with the goal of completion by 2025.
The hydrogen production base is a facility that extracts hydrogen from natural gas (city gas), and produces about 10 tons of carbon dioxide when 1 ton of hydrogen is produced. If a separate carbon dioxide treatment facility is not attached, it is bound to be released into the atmosphere.
Accordingly, the number of cases in which CCUS technology is applied to hydrogen production base construction is expected to increase.
In fact, a pilot project for CO2 recovery from a hydrogen production base is expected to be launched in Changwon this year, so it is attracting attention.
Changwon City has invested KRW 90 billion in total project cost since October 2017 to build a’hydrogen energy circulation system’ demonstration complex on the site at 175 Seongju-dong, Seongsan-gu.
Changwon City is planning to install a CCU facility that collects and recovers carbon dioxide at the rear end of the distributed hydrogen production base by investing a total budget of 2 billion won as a third-stage project. This year, it will receive 250 million won from the Ministry of Environment.
The Changwon Industry Promotion Agency, which is in charge of this project, plans to secure CCU localization technology and develop a business model that commercially utilizes the recovered carbon dioxide.
Daejeon City, which was selected for last year’s small-scale hydrogen production base construction project, plans to incorporate CCUS technology into its hydrogen production base. The Korea Carbon Dioxide Capture and Treatment Research and Development Center (KCRC), a CCS research and development organization in Daejeon, has already signed a related business agreement to take charge of the capture and treatment (CCS) of carbon dioxide from the natural gas reforming process.
The government has already installed on-site hydrogen charging stations (small-scale hydrogen production bases) through the ‘Achievements and Future Plans for Hydrogen Vehicles and Hydrogen Charging Stations’ deliberated and resolved at the ‘1st Hydrogen Economic Committee’ on July 1 of last year. ), it has announced plans to promote the construction of the’Blue Hydrogen Charging Station’ starting this year, where CCUS facilities are installed to capture and utilize carbon dioxide generated by the company.
J&K Heater, the only industrial heating furnace company in Korea and a manufacturer of hydrogen extractors, succeeded in developing a complex reformer design technology that applied microwave plasma reforming to its hydrogen reforming technology. It applied the microwave plasma torch technology developed by Professor Lee Bong-ju of Handong University, a former National Fusion Research Institute.
J&K Heater’s plasma complex reformer design technology is applied for the first time in the’Gangwon-do type hydrogen manufacturing facility construction project’. It is building a hydrogen manufacturing facility for both city gas steam reforming (SMR) and plasma reforming at the Gangneung complex hydrogen charging station.
Hyundai Rotem, which started the hydrogen extractor business in earnest from last year, plans to incorporate the CCUS technology transferred from the Korea Institute of Energy Research into hydrogen production facilities.
Korea Western Power is producing hydrogen by applying carbon dioxide capture technology at the only coal gasification combined cycle (IGCC) facility in Korea built at the Taean Thermal Power Plant.
IGCC is one of the next-generation power generation methods that reacts coal with oxygen and steam under high temperature and high pressure conditions to convert it into synthetic gas containing hydrogen and carbon monoxide as the main components and then utilizes it as a gas turbine fuel.
Western Power built an IGFC test plant on the IGCC site of the Taean Power Plant, and produced 99.99% of high purity hydrogen (about 300kg) for the first time by refining and converting the coal gas extracted from the IGCC process in November 2018. In November 2019, the world’s first fuel cell linked operation using coal synthesis gas was succeeded by developing a’Coal Gasification Fuel Cell Power Generation (IGFC)’ system that generates electricity by recycling hydrogen produced in this way as fuel for fuel cells.
Western Power has also completed and is operating a’Marine Bio-Hydrogen Demonstration Plant’ with an annual capacity of 330 tons that produces hydrogen using synthetic gas and marine microorganisms produced at the Taean Power Plant IGCC in November 2019.