Pilot plant tests carbon capture equipment and methods

Imperial College London has opened a pilot plant that could help test and improve the latest carbon capture equipment and methods. The facility, installed across four floors of the university’s chemical engineering department, will give students a hands-on experience of working in a petrochemical plant, as well as acting as a training and demonstration centre for industry. Swiss automation company ABB has provided almost half the £2m cost of the plant, which uses a solvent to absorb CO2 from a stream of gas and then heats the mixture to separate the CO2, capturing up to 50kg an hour. There are a number of areas where we can do research with this plant,’ project director Dr Daryl Williams told The Engineer. ‘They include optimisation of process and optimisation of the control of carbon capture.