LSCF Tubes Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions

LSCF tubes, tiny tubes made from an advanced ceramic material, have the remarkable property of being able to filter oxygen out of the air. If air were to be blown around the outside of an assembly of a large number of the tubes located in a gas fired power station, oxygen would pass through the wall of the tube to the inside, where it would combusts with methane gas that is being pumped through the of the tubes. By burning fuel in pure oxygen, it is possible to produce a stream of almost pure carbon dioxide, which has commercial potential for reprocessing into useful chemicals.

Engineers at Newcastle University in northern England, in collaboration with Imperial College London, have developed LSCF for potential use in reducing emissions for gas-fired power stations and possibly coal and oil-fired electricity generation as well. Conventional gas-fired power stations burn methane, the primary component of natural gas, in a stream of air, producing a mixture of nitrogen and greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which are emitted into the atmosphere. Separating the gases is not practical because of the high cost and large amount of energy needed to do so.

However, the LSCF tubes  would allow only the oxygen component of air to reach the methane gas, resulting in the production of almost pure carbon dioxide and steam, which can easily be separated by condensing out the steam as water.

The LSCF, which stands for Lanthanum-Strontium-Cobalt-Ferric Oxide, tubes look like small, stiff, drinking straws and are permeable to oxygen ions — individual atoms carrying an electrical charge. Crucially, LSCF is also resistant to corrosion or decomposition at typical power station operating temperatures of around 800C.

The oxygen-depleted air, which consists mainly of nitrogen, can be returned to the atmosphere with no harmful effects on the environment, while the carbon dioxide can be collected separately from the inside of the tubes after combustion.

An alternative would be to control the flow of air and methane so that only partial combustion took place. This would result in a flow of 'synthesis gas', a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which can easily be converted into a variety of useful hydrocarbon chemicals.

The new combustion process has been developed and tested in the laboratory by Professor Ian Metcalfe, Dr Alan Thursfield and colleagues in the School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials at Newcastle University, in collaboration with Dr Kang Li in the Chemical Engineering Department at Imperial College London. The research has been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University of Newcastle upon Tyne

This technology, even if practical, does not address the larger question of what to do with the CO2!

Comments

[Christopher]

"This technology, even if practical, does not address the larger question of what to do with the CO2!"

An inexpensive oxygen separation membrane enables easier CO2 capture - combustion with oxygen instead of air produces a concentrated stream of CO2 that need not be separated post-combustion.

CO2 storage is a separate issue, but both need to be addressed, but cannot always be addressed in one unit :]

[Peter Hunt]

This is not the first of the oxygen absorbtion transfer technologies but it sure makes sense to produce oxygen in this manner if the cost are low. ( others are doped zeolytes) Why heat the nitrogen and add to the waste stream?

This would also be of value in the in-situ fire flooding of the deep tar sands or other permeable oil deposits.After all hot CO2 is a good flusher/solvent for enhanced recovery of oil.

The chinese would be very interested. Our oil industry is holding back on any new technologies it would seem.

Bindlepete

[Paul Diet]

Why heat the nitrogen

Because this material only transports oxygen at elevated temperature?

[Henry Gibson]

This ceramic material allows for a simple zero pollution car to operate on the road and burn any liquid fuel. After combustion the exhaust gases are fed to a compressor that allows for the water to be condensed into a liquid and the carbon dioxide to be also condensed if the temperature is less than 88 Farenheit, 31 centigrade. There is enough space in a car to store the CO2 under pressure, even if not liquified, until it can be dropped off at a service station. Multiple small pressure tanks can be installed in free space and even pressure tubes could be used as structure elements. The tanks or tubes can be made of cheap steel or lighter materials if the expense can be tolerated. The water can be released or saved. Cooling the CO2 to liquid in hot climates may not be necessary. Evaporating the liquid water into dry air might provide some cooling.

The high temperature combustion can be used to operate a small stirling engine with heat pipes. Batteries with a ten mile capacity and high power are all that are needed; such batteries are made today even out of lead. Just a single extra Prius battery installed in a Prius with electronics that can put its full charge into the regular battery when needed would give the Prius 30 miles of extra full electric range.

The car could fuel up at service stations every 200 or 300 miles and drop off its CO2 while picking up more fuel. Any liquid or gaseous fuel could be used, but ordinary liquids like ethanol, vegetable oils, diesel, heating oil,colman lantern fuel, methanol and filtered used motor oil can all be used and compensated for by the car computer and oxygen sensor. No special qualities like octane rating or cetane rating or volatility are needed. There is no reason to make biodiesel, as the original oils can be used. A separate tank for some starting fuel could be useful. Even pure carbon nano particles suspended in a fluid could be a fuel. The fluid could be CO2.

A cheap simple steam car could be built to demonstrate the technology. A steam car with a vacuum insulated tank and home plug in electric heaters would have the instant take off capability. Fuel powered heaters could also keep the steam hot.

Fuel powered heaters are now built into some European diesel cars that are so efficient that enough heat is not produced to keep the car and engine warm at some cold temperatures. They might even have to invent exhaust gas heat recovery.... HG....

[MUSA]

It is possible to use this technique to produce liquid fuels from the gases which were previously flared (to stop gas flaring)at the sources of gas in oil and gas fields. It is a catalytic partial oxidation of Natural gas (methane)to produce liquid fuels. These liquids can be used to fuel the equipments, tracks and cars at site.