Carbon dioxide capture technology for the coal-powered electricity industry : a systematic prioritization of research needs

Coal is widely relied upon as a fuel for electric power generation, and pressure is increasing to limit emissions of the CO2 produced during its combustion because of concerns over climate change. In order to continue the use of coal without emitting CO2, low cost technologies must be developed for capturing CO2 from power plants. Current CO2 capture technology is expensive, both in terms of capital and operating cost, so research and development efforts will be heavily relied upon to improve the economic profile of the technologies. With scarce resources available for R&D, and a number or different technologies competing for these funds, efforts must be prudently prioritized in order for successful advancements to be realized. This thesis assesses the state-of-the-art CO2 capture technologies available today, as well as the leading technology options for improvement. It also examines types of R&D, government and industry roles in R&D efforts, and methods and tools for managing these efforts. From these analyses, qualitative conclusions about how to prioritize CO2 capture technology R&D efforts to ensure advancement are offered.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Technology and Policy Program.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Esber, George Salem, III

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Howard Herzog.

• Technology and Policy Program.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34516

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/34516