Oxyfuel Combustion

Oxyfuel combustion involves the burning of a fossil fuel energy source in the presence of pure oxygen. Burning fuel in the presence of oxygen removes contaminants, including nitrogen, from the exhaust stream resulting in CO₂ being easier to capture. The process diagram below outlines how oxyfuel-combustion capture works.

The Process:

• Air is purified in a distillation column then sent through a heat exchanger where pure oxygen (O₂) is separated extracted.
• The pure oxygen (O₂) is then combusted with the fuel source.  The combustion is used to create stream which, in turn, will run a turbine to make electricity or be used in other industrial applications.
• The exhaust from oxygen combustion has a very high concentration of CO­₂ which can be captured, compressed for transportation and stored.