Toshiba Corp has said it has started test operating a pilot plant to develop a commercially viable technology to separate and capture carbon dioxide from flue gas generated in the process of thermal power generation.
The pilot plant is located in a coal-fired power station of Sigma Power Ariake Co, a Toshiba affiliate, in Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, and uses 1 per cent of the flue gas from the boiler, said the Tokyo-based conglomerate manufacturing company.
The plant, which separates CO2 through a proprietary absorbing liquid and converts it back into gas for recovery by applying heat to the solution, can capture 10 tons per day, Toshiba yesterday said.
While the test operation is aimed at developing a carbon capture and storage system, more studies are needed to realize a technology to store CO2 away from the atmosphere.
Toshiba said it will seek to establish a business capable of meeting the emerging need for commercial-scale CCS systems for thermal power plants by 2015. It is targeting sales in the business of 100 billion yen in fiscal 2020.