Method of cleaning a carbon dioxide rich flue gas and a boiler system

• US 9,638,416 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2011
• Issued: 05/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Technology GmbH (GE Aerospace)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Technology GmbH (GE Aerospace)
• Inventors: Grubbstrm, Jrgen P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Duane
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOLECEK, CABRENA L
• Application Number:
  US13/988,518
• Publication Number:
  US 20140041562A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,000 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2251/404 of calcium
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2251/606 Carbonates
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2257/302 Sulfur oxides
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2257/504 Carbon dioxide
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2257/80 Water
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2258/0283 Flue gases
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2267/30 Same type of filters
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 46/04 Cleaning filters
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 46/70 by acting counter-currently on the filtering surface, e.g. by flushing on the non-cake side of the filter
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/002 by condensation
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/40 Acidic components B01D53/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/502 characterised by a specific solution or suspension
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/505 in a spray drying process
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/62 Carbon oxides
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/73 After-treatment of removed components
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/75 Multi-step processes
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/78 with gas-liquid contact
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/83 with moving reactants
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 2201/04 Ionising electrode being a wire
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 3/017 Combinations of electrostatic separation with other processes, not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 3/02 : Plant or installations having external electricity supply
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 3/08 : characterised by presence of stationary flat electrodes arranged with their flat surfaces parallel to the gas stream
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 3/41 : Ionising-electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 3/47 : flat, e.g. plates, discs, gratings
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 3/70 : insulating in electric separators B03C3/53 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 3/76 : by using a mechanical vibrator, e.g. rapping gear ; by using impact
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 3/86 : Electrode-carrying means B03C3/40 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 32/50 : Carbon dioxide
• CPC Class Codes: F23J 15/02 : of purifiers, e.g. for removing noxious material traps for solid residues F23J3/04
• CPC Class Codes: F23J 15/025 : using filters
• CPC Class Codes: Y02C 20/40 : of CO2
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 20/32 : Direct CO2 mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 20/151 : Reduction of greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions, e.g. CO2

Abstract

A boiler system (101) comprises a boiler (2) for combusting a fuel in the presence of a gas containing oxygen gas, and a gas cleaning system (106). The boiler system (101) comprises a compression device being operative for pressurizing at least a portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least a portion of the contaminant content has been removed, and a carbon dioxide supply duct (142; 143; 145) being operative for forwarding at least a portion of the pressurized carbon dioxide rich flue gas to at least one gas cleaning device (108; 110; 111) for being utilized as a utility gas therein.

Claims

1. A method of cleaning a carbon dioxide rich flue gas generated in a boiler combusting a fuel in the presence of a gas containing oxygen gas, the method comprising:

forwarding the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from the boiler to a gas cleaning system,

removing in said gas cleaning system at least a portion of a contaminant content of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas,

pressurizing at least a portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least the portion of the contaminant content has been removed, and

forwarding at least a portion of the pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least the portion of the contaminant content has been removed to at least one gas cleaning device for being utilized as a utility gas therein; and

utilizing the pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least the portion of the contaminant content has been removed by at least one of;

(i) flushing a cover for an isolator of the at least one gas cleaning device in the form of an electrostatic precipitator;

(ii) atomizing an absorption liquid of the at least one gas cleaning device in the form of a spray dryer absorber; and

(iii) fluidization of a particulate material of the at least one gas cleaning device in the form of a mixing device supplying the particulate material mixed with absorbent to a contact reactor bringing the particulate material mixed with the absorbent into contact with the carbon dioxide rich flue gas.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said pressurizing is conducted in a gas compression and purification unit operating to prepare from the carbon dioxide rich flue gas that has been cleaned in the gas cleaning system a pressurized carbon dioxide gas for disposal.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the gas compression and purification unit comprises a low pressure compression unit being operative for increasing the pressure of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas to a pressure of 20 to 50 bar absolute pressure, wherein said forwarding at least a portion of the pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas comprises forwarding to said at least one gas cleaning device a gas that has passed through at least a part of the low pressure compression unit.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said forwarding at least the portion of the pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas comprises forwarding to said at least one gas cleaning device a gas that has passed through an intermediate dehydration unit located downstream of the low pressure compression unit.

5. The method according to claim 1, comprising utilizing a portion of the pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least the portion of the contaminant content has been removed for pulse-cleaning the at least one gas cleaning device in the form of a fabric filter.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least the portion of the contaminant content has been removed is utilized for the flushing of the cover for the isolator of the at least one gas cleaning device in the form of the electrostatic precipitator.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least the portion of the contaminant content has been removed is utilized for the atomizing of the absorption liquid of the at least one gas cleaning device in the form of the spray dryer absorber.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least the portion of the contaminant content has been removed is utilized for the fluidization of the particulate material of the at least one gas cleaning device in the form of the a mixing device supplying the particulate material mixed with the absorbent to the contact reactor bringing the particulate material mixed with the absorbent into contact with the carbon dioxide rich flue gas.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein at least a portion of the pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas, from which at least the portion of the contaminant content has been removed, that is forwarded to the mixing device is collected downstream of a filter removing the particulate material supplied to said contact reactor by said mixing device, the carbon dioxide rich flue gas being collected, pressurized and forwarded to said mixing device prior to passing through a gas compression and purification unit.

10. A boiler system comprising:

a boiler for combusting a fuel in the presence of a gas containing oxygen gas, and a gas cleaning system being operative for removing at least a portion of a contaminant content of a carbon dioxide rich flue gas generated in the boiler, a compression device being operative for pressurizing at least a portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least the portion of the contaminant content has been removed, and

a carbon dioxide supply duct being operative for forwarding at least a portion of the pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least the portion of the contaminant content has been removed to at least one gas cleaning device for being utilized as a utility gas therein; and

wherein the at least one gas cleaning device comprises at least one of;

(i) an electrostatic precipitator, the carbon dioxide supply duct being operative for forwarding the pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least the portion of the contaminant content has been removed to an isolator flushing system of the electrostatic precipitator,

(ii) a spray dryer absorber, the carbon dioxide supply duct being operative for forwarding the pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least the portion of the contaminant content has been removed to a slurry atomization arrangement of the spray dryer absorber, and

(iii) a mixing device supplying particulate material mixed with absorbent to a contact reactor being operative for bringing the particulate material mixed with the absorbent into contact with the carbon-dioxide rich flue gas, the carbon dioxide supply duct being operative for forwarding the pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least the portion of the contaminant content has been removed to the mixing device for fluidizing the particulate material in the mixing device.

11. The boiler system according to claim 10, wherein the boiler system further comprises a gas compression and purification unit being operative for preparing from the carbon dioxide rich flue gas that has been cleaned in the gas cleaning system a pressurized carbon dioxide gas for disposal, said compression device being included in the gas compression and purification unit, said carbon dioxide supply duct being operative for forwarding at least a portion of said pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least a portion of the contaminant content has been removed, from the gas compression and purification unit to said at least one gas cleaning device.

12. The boiler system according to claim 11, wherein the gas compression and purification unit comprises a low pressure compression unit being operative for increasing the pressure of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas to a pressure of 20 to 50 bar absolute pressure, the carbon dioxide supply duct being operative for forwarding to said at least one gas cleaning device a gas that has passed through at least a part of the low pressure compression unit.

13. The boiler system according to claim 10, wherein the at least one gas cleaning device forms part of the gas cleaning system.

14. The boiler system according to claim 10, wherein the at least one gas cleaning device comprises a fabric filter, the carbon dioxide supply duct being operative for forwarding the pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least a portion of the contaminant content has been removed to a pulse-cleaning system of the fabric filter.

15. The boiler system according to claim 10, wherein the at least one gas cleaning device comprises the electrostatic precipitator, the carbon dioxide supply duct being operative for forwarding the pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least the portion of the contaminant content has been removed to the isolator flushing system of the electrostatic precipitator.

16. The boiler system according to claim 10, wherein the at least one gas cleaning device comprises the spray dryer absorber, the carbon dioxide supply duct being operative for forwarding the pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least the portion of the contaminant content has been removed to the slurry atomization arrangement of the spray dryer absorber.

17. The boiler system according to claim 10, wherein the at least one gas cleaning device comprises the mixing device supplying the particulate material mixed with the absorbent to the contact reactor being operative for bringing the particulate material mixed with the absorbent into contact with the carbon dioxide rich flue gas, the carbon dioxide supply duct being operative for forwarding the pressurized portion of the carbon dioxide rich flue gas from which at least the portion of the contaminant content has been removed to the mixing device for fluidizing the particulate material in the mixing device.