http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/2620/

ScottishPower claims to have made a breakthrough in reducing the amount of energy required to separate carbon emissions at its coal-fired Longannet Power Station.

The testing at Longannet to assess the performance of the amine capture plant under a range of operating conditions has been underway since May this year.
Employing a mixture of process improvements and low energy solvents, technicians from ScottishPower and partner company Aker Clean Carbon say they has managed to reduce energy consumption by around a third.
“What this means in real terms is that we’re not just reducing energy, but also reducing the cost,” ScottishPower chief executive Nick Horler told the Carbon Capture and Storage Forum in London last week.
“I’m not claiming we’re there yet – but… in the next few months as our scientists and engineers work with new amine solutions we are confident that we will cross more barriers, achieve more breakthroughs and deliver even better results,” he says.
The prototype system, which has been in operation for over 2000 hours, captures around 90% of the carbon emissions from 1000 m3/h of Longannet’s exhaust gas.
Testing will continue until February next year, but the company believes the technology is ready for a full-scale demonstration.