Laser cuts carbon dioxide emissions

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EDMONTON – A toaster-sized laser installed inside the exhaust stack at the coal-fired Genesee 3 (G3) power plant south of Wabamun Lake should cut carbon dioxide emissions by two per cent.

The device will also save co-owners Capital Power and TransAlta about $1 million in carbon dioxide emission penalties this year.

“The monitor allows operators to fine-tune the plant’s performance,” said Genesee plant manager Alan Danroth of Capital Power, which operates the facility.

“This fine tuning is expected to allow us to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 60,000 tonnes a year, equal to nearly a year’s reduction requirement under provincial regulation.”

Under the Alberta Government’s Specified Gas Emitters Regulation, coal-fired power plants, like G3, must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions over the next four years by two per cent each year.

Owners may meet this target by reducing emissions at source, obtaining and retiring verified carbon offsets, or paying $15 per tonne to a provincial technology fund – which would cost nearly $1 million for 60,000 tonnes of CO2 credits.

The reduction is especially significant because G3, a 450-megawatt plant that opened in 2005 with a supercritical boiler, is already the most efficient coal-fired power plant in Canada. Its greenhouse gas emissions are 18 per cent lower than other, older facilities.

“Reducing emissions by another two per cent is a significant achievement for G3, and it shows the potential of this technology for coal plants across the country,” Brian Vaasjo, president and CEO of Capital Power said in a statement.

“This project is a solid example of how public policy in Alberta is driving real reductions in emissions as we transition to a lower-carbon future.”

Capital Power purchased the laser from Boreal Laser, based in Spruce Grove, Alta. It was tested in late 2007 and began permanent operation this summer.

The toaster-sized laser emitter is mounted 70 metres off the ground inside the exhaust stack, shooting a beam of invisible infrared light across the stack.

“The beam has a power of just 20 milliwatts, 5,000 times less than a 100- watt light bulb, but it has a big impact,” said Brian Sinfield of Boreal Laser.

“The technology can yield precise measurements of the concentration of CO2 in the flue gas allowing engineers to optimize the plant’s operations.”

Using real-time data from the monitor, operators make daily adjustments to the pressure and temperature of the steam leaving the boiler.

Traditionally, adjustments were made once a month based on the evaluations of the coal going into the plant.

Those “mass-balance” calculations determine how much carbon is in the coal, as a basis for estimating the total amount of carbon dioxide that will be emitted after the coal is burned.

Edmonton Journal

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Tagged as: Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Offsets

Posted on August 22, 2009 · in Canada