Analysis and Status of Post-Combustion Carbon Dioxide Capture Technologies

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) undertook a multiyear effort to understand the landscape of postcombustion CO2 capture technologies globally. In this paper we discuss several central issues facing CO2 capture involving scale, energy, and overall status of development. We argue that the scale of CO2 emissions is sufficiently large to place inherent limits on the types of capture processes that could be deployed broadly. We also discuss the minimum energy usage in terms of a parasitic load on a power plant. Finally, we present summary findings of the landscape of capture technologies using an index of technology readiness levels.