March 30, 2009　　Dow

Alstom and Dow Collaborate to Combat Climate Change
　　A New Advanced Amine CO² Capture Pilot Plant in West Virginia

Alstom, a world leader in power generation, and The Dow Chemical Company, a global gas treating industry leader, announce the design and construction of a pilot plant to capture carbon dioxide (CO_²) from the flue gas 燃焼排ガス of a coal-fired boiler at the Dow-owned facility in South Charleston, West Virginia, USA.

Alstom will design, construct and operate the pilot plant, which is expected to capture approximately 1,800 tons per year of CO_² from flue gas using Alstom’s and Dow’s advanced amine technology. Dow will provide the site and utilities, as well as the chemicals and its amine technology expertise for this project. The pilot plant is expected to be operational by 3Q 09.

“We are thrilled to be part of this groundbreaking project in CO_² capture,” said Janet Giesselman, President and General Manager of Dow Oil & Gas. “This technology has immense potential - for the local community, industry, environment and our business. Developing advanced amine technology will provide sustainable energy solutions now and into the future.”

“Coal, which represents over two thirds of the world’s power generation, is and will continue to be an essential part of the world’s energy mix,” said Philippe Joubert, Alstom Executive Vice President and President of Alstom Power. “But only by reducing its CO_² output can coal remain a viable source of power generation. Our cooperation with Dow further demonstrates our leadership and commitment in this field, as well as providing the validation we need to launch our amine-based CO_² capture technology on a commercial scale.”

All the coal used in the pilot will be sourced locally in West Virginia. By constructing a facility capable of capturing CO_², Alstom and Dow will help assure that coal remains an important and sustainable part of the United States’ energy security.

This project is an important element of Dow’s 2015 sustainability goals. According to Vice President of Sustainability, Neil Hawkins, “Dow is committed to providing solutions that improve energy efficiency, promote renewable energy, improve the environmental performance of our existing energy sources, and enable carbon capture and sequestration. Dow is a leader in bringing these solutions forward.”

In 2008, Dow and Alstom entered into a Joint Development Agreement to develop advanced amine technology for CO_² capture. Currently, Alstom is working with Dow to develop a commercial offering of an advanced amine-based scrubbing 洗浄 technology for industrial sources that produce exhaust or flue gases containing CO_² and high levels of oxygen. The new process will significantly reduce the amount of energy required for CO_² separation and capture. The West Virginia pilot plant will validate this new technology.

February 13, 2008

Alstom and Dow Sign Joint Development and Commercialization Agreement for Amine Based CO₂ Capture

Alstom Power, Inc. (Alstom) and The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) announce a joint development (JDA) and commercialization agreement for advanced amine scrubbing technology for the removal of CO₂ from low pressure flue gases particular to fossil fuel fired power plants and other major industries. The agreement between Alstom and Dow is worldwide and exclusive for the application of this specific technology.

December 16, 2008

MOU Signed to use Dow/Alstom Technology to Reduce CO_² Output in Poland

Advanced amine-based scrubbing technology from The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) is expected to be used in a pilot carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant built by Alstom Power, Inc. (Alstom) at the Belchatow Power Plant in Poland ? Europe’s largest coal-fueled thermal power station. This effort is part of a Joint Development and Commercialization Agreement between Dow and Alstom announced earlier this year.

About Alstom

Alstom is at the forefront of carbon capture technology development. In 2007 and 2008, as part of its multi-product strategy, Alstom announced agreements with AEP, Statoil, Vattenfall, E.ON and PGE Elektrownia to test CO_² capture technologies in the U.S. and Europe. To date, Alstom has started operation at three CO_² capture pilot projects, with EPRI and We Energies in Wisconsin, USA, E.ON in Sweden and Vattenfall in Germany. This year, Alstom plans to recruit between 60 and 100 staff to work on the CCS demonstration projects in which it will be involved.

Alstom (www.alstom.com) is a global leader in the world of power generation and rail infrastructure and sets the benchmark for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies. Alstom builds the fastest train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world, and provides turnkey integrated power plant solutions, equipment and associated services for a wide variety of energy sources, including hydro, nuclear, gas, coal and wind. The Group employs 76,000 people in 70 countries, and had orders of ?23.5 billion in 2007/08.  

特に火力発電所などCO₂を大量に排出する場所に適している方法は化学吸収法であり、吸収液としてもっとも広く研究されているものはアルカノールアミン溶液を使ったものです。

　アルカノールアミンとして一般的であるMonoEthanolAmine（MEA：C₂H₅O-NH₂）を例にとると、CO₂とMEAとの間には次の反応が起こると考えられています。

2C₂H₅O-NH₂　+　CO_2　→^←　C₂H₅O-NH₃ + C₂H₅O-NHCOO^-　　　(1)

　図1に示すように、約40〜60℃の温度ではこの反応は右へ進み、MEAはCO₂を吸収します。CO₂を吸収したMEA（CO₂ Rich MEA）を約100〜120℃程度に加熱すると逆に反応は左へ進み、CO₂を高純度で分離回収することができ、CO₂を放出したMEA（CO₂ Lean MEA）は再びCO₂を吸収することができるので、再利用が可能となります。

二酸化炭素の分離・回収技術の一つである化学吸収法において、吸収液としてアルカノールアミン水溶液などのアミン系の吸収液を利用する方法を、アミン法と呼びます。これらの吸収液は、アミノ基を分子構造の中に有しており、一般的にアミンと呼ばれています。40〜50℃の温度でアミノ基と二酸化炭素は結合反応を起こし、アミン炭酸塩を形成します。このアミン炭酸塩を加熱(110〜130℃)すると、二酸化炭素は吸収液から解脱反応し、放散されます。二酸化炭素が低圧、低濃度でも高い除去率を得られ、火力発電所のような大規模処理に向いていますが、吸収液の再生に多大なエネルギーを要することが課題です。

アルストムは全世界の発電能力の25％余りにあたる発電設備を供給し、鉄道輸送分野においての世界市場占有率は18％に達しています。アルストムの発電および鉄道輸送基盤分野の刷新的技術、環境保全技術が世界標準を産み出しているのです。
世 界最速の列車、世界最高の輸送能力を備えた自動制御の地下鉄はアルストムの製品です。そのほかにもアルストムは、水力、ガス、石炭発電をはじめとして、多 種多様なエネルギー源に関わるターンキー方式の包括的な発電設備ソリューション、および付帯サービスを供給しています。

1928年設立のフランスの重電メーカー。

各種の発電プラントやTGVをはじめとした高速鉄道や、LRVなどの鉄道車両で知られる。1990年代に英・ゼネラル・エレクトリック・カンパニーや伊・フィアットの鉄道車両製造部門を吸収するなど、事業は拡大したが、その後経営危機に陥り、フランス政府からの公的資金による救済措置で生き残っている。現在は公的資金は完済している。1997年に民営化され、GECとアルカテルが大株主だったが、その後両社とも保有株式を売却している。フランス共和国政府の原子力産業政策の転換によって、2004年にエネルギー部門の一部をアレヴァ社に譲渡している。

総合鉄道関連メーカーとしては、シーメンス・ボンバルディアと並ぶ「ビッグ3」の一つで、世界の鉄道車両製造では約2割強のシェアを有する（他の2社もほぼ同程度、日本企業は主要6社を合わせて約1割）。2007年4月に車輪走行の世界記録を達成している。

中国にSATCO（サトコ）という子会社を有する。

March 30, 2009 NYT

Dow, Alstom to build carbon capture pilot project in W.Va.

The Dow Chemical Co. and French energy services firm Alstom are developing a pilot project to capture carbon dioxide from a chemical manufacturing plant in South Charleston, W.Va.

Alstom will design, build and operate the pilot plant, which would capture about 1,800 tons of CO2 annually from the Dow coal-fired boiler's flue gas. The pilot plant, slated for operation this fall, would be the initial test site for carbon-capture technology the companies hope to deploy globally on power plants, cement kilns and other large emitters of greenhouse gases.

"We're going to look at all applications that need this technology for capturing CO2," said Peder Danielsen, strategic marketing director for Dow's oil and gas unit. He declined to say how much the companies intend to invest in developing and deploying the technology.

The West Virginia pilot project would use amines, or ammonia derivatives, to bond with the smoke stack's CO2. The project would then use heat to strip CO2 from the amines, which would be recycled.

The CO2 would be released back into the atmosphere in this case, noted Bob Hilton, Alstom's vice president for technology. "It's too small of a scale to do anything else," he said.

The companies are exploring other options at potential commercial-scale sites, such as injecting the CO2 underground for long-term storage or enhanced oil recovery, Hilton added.

Alstom is planning to start up its first commercial C02-capture project at Poland's Belchatow power plant, which is owned by PGE Elektrownia Belchatow S.A.

In the project's first phase, slated for 2011, Alstom would use amines to capture about 100,000 tons of CO2 annually. The project's second phase would capture CO2 from a new 858-megawatt, coal-fired unit.

The captured emissions would be sequestered underground, Hilton said.

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