Petrobras develops new FCCU technology to capture CO2, cut emissions
In partnership with its Cenpes, Brazil research center, Petrobras’ Shale Industrialization Facility (known as SIX) in Paraná is developing technology on a demonstration scale to cut emissions through carbon dioxide (CO2) capture.
The technology is now being tested in a prototype fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU), which transforms heavy crude into light oil products.
According to the company, this is the first pre-industrial scale FCCU to use oxy-combustion technology (the burning of a fuel using pure oxygen instead of air) to capture CO2 released during industrial processes in refineries.
FCCUs are the main individual sources of refinery CO2 emissions, accounting for around one-third of total CO2 emissions. The objectives of the tests thus far are to evaluate the new technology on a scale closer to industrial scale and to identify areas for further development.
Based on recent test data, researchers expect to capture at least 90% of the CO2 emitted when applied in industrial plants. They also expect to generate a stream of CO2 with a minimum purity level of 95% ready to sell to CO2-purchasing industries, to inject into oil wells to increase output (known as enhanced oil recovery), or to inject into natural underground reservoirs to be retained there (called geological storage).
The challenge of CO2 capture also encompasses transportation and geological storage. To implement this technology, legislation and regulations are being drawn up to define the technical, social and environmental criteria that need to be met.
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