CO2 Capture with Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells

​Speaker

Tim Barckholtz

Senior Principal for Energy Sciences
ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering

Abstract

CO2 Capture with Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells

The current best-available technology for CO2 capture from combustion flue gas sources uses liquid amines, which have a substantial energy consumption. This talk will describe the use of carbonate fuel cells for CO2 capture without a significant energy debit. The CO2-laden flue gas is taken as the inlet to the cathode, with fresh CH4 fed to the anode. The CO2 is transferred through the fuel cell membrane as the carbonate ion, CO32-. At the anode, the ions react with hydrogen (from the CH4) to produce CO2 and H2O, and high potential electrons for the power circuit. In this process, additional power and surplus H2 are created by the fuel cells, keeping the total efficiency of the system at or near the efficiency of the original system without CO2 capture. The overall system will be described, including unforeseen challenges that have largely been overcome. A demonstration at the company’s Rotterdam refinery is in the planning stage. For more information, see this recent article: Applied Energy, 2022, 313, 118553

Bio

Tim received a B.S. degree in Chemistry and Mathematics from Trinity University (San Antonio), and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from The Ohio State University. Following a post-doctoral appointment at NIST and the University of Colorado, he joined ExxonMobil’s Corporate Strategic Research Labs in 2001. He has held a variety of positions in research, planning and strategy, crude oil supply chain logistics, and research management. His current R&D activities are focused on novel methods for CO2 capture using carbonate fuel cells, bioenergy with CCS (BECCS), nature-based solutions for atmospheric greenhouse gas reduction, direct air capture, and detection of H2 emissions.