Technology for CO{sub 2} emission monitoring and control

The authors examined three specific areas relative to CO{sub 2} emissions and controls: (1) the effect of deregulation of the utility industry on emissions, (2) the role of advanced power systems in reducing emissions, and (3) developing CO{sub 2} mitigation technologies. In this work the Energy Technologies program office at Los Alamos attempted to initiate an integrated approach that includes a range of tasks involving both point and distributed CO{sub 2} control. The authors have examined evolving mitigation (separation and sequestration) technologies for CO{sub 2} disposal. The separation of hydrogen gas from high-temperature CO{sub 2}-containing streams is a critical component of carbon dioxide mitigation technology, and cost-effective point sequestration will require separation of CO{sub 2} from H{sub 2}. They investigated four types of separation techniques: two high-temperature membrane technologies, an intermediate-temperature membrane technology, and a separation technology based on the formation of CO{sub 2} hydrate compounds through reaction of CO{sub 2} with water at near freezing conditions. At Los Alamos, sequestration technologies are being developed along three principal areas: mineral sequestration of CO{sub 2}, the enhancement of natural sinks using biotechnology methods, and the conversion of CO{sub 2} to methanol using high-temperature photolysis.