A Study on the Scope for Improvement of the Operating Conditions at the Boundary Dam Unit 3 Carbon Capture and Storage Facility

We will continue to rely on fossil fuel energy generation for at least this century. Reducing our carbon footprint is vital for the welfare of our environment and human health. The province we live in, Saskatchewan, is the second-highest emitter of CO2 in Canada. This is primarily due to our reliance on coal-fired power plants for electricity. The Boundary Dam power plant in Estevan, SK, is the first-ever commercial power plant equipped with CCS technology. The current CCS process is highly efficient in capturing its carbon dioxide emissions and storing them underground. As with any first-of-its-kind project, numerous operational challenges have occurred that have affected the capture plant availability and, in turn, resulted in reduced efficiency of the plant. One of the major concerns is fly ash accumulation on plant equipment, which causes outages and the accumulation of fly ash in the amine-based absorbent that is utilized for capturing CO2. This is primarily due to the transfer of PMs in the fly ash from pre-conditioning to downstream equipment. This study identified three alternatives to address PM accumulation and improve the operation of the capture facility: using a water and oil column, a hybrid electrostatic precipitator, and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane filters.