Conference abstract – PCCC8: Industrial Scale Carbon Capture Technology Testing at CO2 Technology Centre Mongstad: Results using CESAR1

Abstract

Global CO2 emission trends show an increase in the total CO2 emissions, i.e. 36.8 Billion tons in 2022 [1], 37.4 Billion tons in 2023 [2] and in 2024 CO2 emissions are expected to be above 40 Billion tons [3]. Though clean energy deployment is increasing, it’s not yet at the capacity to reverse the trend of global CO2 emissions. Energy consumption indicates that energy demand will continue to grow in the coming years. Net-Zero pledges by companies, countries are still far away from achieving the required reduction in emissions.

CO₂ capture using proven amine-based technologies is at the forefront of available solutions, playing a critical role in achieving net-zero ambitions.

Developing large-scale CO₂ capture processes for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) applications—especially in energy, chemicals, materials production—requires a stepwise scale-up, validation, and verification to prevent costly technical failures. Rigorous testing at each stage is essential to ensure reliability and performance before full-scale implementation. In EU funded AURORA project, testing is planned to perform with SINTEF Tiller facility at 1 TPD, ACC’s MTU at 2-5 TPD and TCM facility 100 -200 TPD scale covering small pilot to industrial/engineering scale demonstration.

TCM’s demonstration-scale test facility shown in Figure 1, known as the “amine plant,” has already helped several commercial vendors by performing test campaigns on various CO₂ capture solvents since its inauguration in 2012. The active collaboration among public, industrial, research, and academic stakeholders has enriched these campaigns, ensuring that the insights gained benefit a wide audience. The primary objective of these initiatives is to generate knowledge that reduces technical, environmental, financial, and overall cost risks for the commercial-scale deployment of post-combustion CO₂ capture (PCC). At the CO₂ Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM), we systematically quantify CO₂ capture systems to manage risks and lower barriers to commercialization. This approach accelerates technology transfer and supports the global deployment of effective CO₂ capture solutions.

Keywords: CO2 Technology Centre Mongstad; CESAR 1 solvent, Carbon Capture; Industrial scale, Advanced process configurations, high capture rates

Authors: Koteswara Rao Putta, Rouzbeh Zafari, Ahmad Wakaa, Matthew Campbell (Technology Centre Mongstad).