New experimental tests on a "clean" fuel from fossil fuels

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The Casaccia Research Centre hosts the ZECOMIX Research Infrastructure, where a group of ENEA researchers has tested a pilot-scale methodology for industries to produce a “clean” fuel from fossil fuels. This innovative technology, so far tested only at lab scale, is based on the decarbonisation of fossil fuel to produce high-hydrogen gas and to capture CO₂ for its geological sequestration or other possible uses.

The ZECOMIX (Zero Emission of CarbOn with MIXed technologies) platform is one of the most advanced research infrastructure at the international level (mapped as a European Research Infrastructure (RI) of more-than-national relevance in the MERIL website, sponsored by the European Commission - www.meril.eu). The platform is named SE-WGS (Sorption Enhanced – Water Gas Shift) and allows to produce hydrogen while capturing CO₂, under atmospheric pressure, using a natural sorbent (calcium oxide) very low-cost and non-toxic for people and the environment.

Stefano Stendardo (Technical Unit for Advanced Technologies for Energy and Industry), the engineer heading the experimental texts, stresses all the possible applications of this new technology: “This process, sustainable in terms of cost-effectiveness and environmentally-friendly impact, can be fully integrated with both energy-producing and highly energy-intensive industrial systems, such as steel and cement plants. Actually it dramatically reduces CO₂ emissions and is highly energy-efficient. Hence, this is the candidate technology to significantly cut the costs of CO₂ separation –which is one of the main obstacles to the industrial penetration of CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) technologies– and the feasible solution to the actual decarbonisation of the energetic and industrial systems”.

This research has been carried out under the Project “Cattura e sequestro della CO₂ prodotta da combustibili fossili” (i.e., CO₂ Capture and Sequestration from fossil fuels) within the framework of the Electric System Research Programme, funded by the Italian Ministry for Economic Development.

Source:  Stefano Stendardo, Technical Unit for Advanced Technologies for Energy and Industry, stefano.stendardo@enea.it

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