Barberton, Ohio, February 1, 2010 — Babcock and Wilcox Power Generation Group researchers have successfully captured carbon dioxide emissions from a pilot-scale, coal-fired boiler using advanced solvents and a proprietary carbon capture process developed at the company’s research center in Barberton, Ohio.

Babcock and Wilcox PGG is an operating unit of The Babcock and Wilcox Company.

Babcock and Wilcox PGG has conducted its first demonstration on flue gas from a coal-fired boiler at the company’s Regenerable Solvent Absorption Technology (RSATTM) Pilot Plant.

Researchers were able to continuously remove more than 90 percent of the carbon dioxide from the Small Boiler Simulator II’s flue gas stream using a fully integrated RSAT process.

Babcock and Wilcox PGG researchers are now evaluating proprietary solvents and characterizing their performance at this scale.

The RSAT process uses a liquid solvent in an absorber vessel to remove carbon from a plant's flue gas stream.

The carbon dioxide can then be removed from the solvent and prepared for long-term storage or other uses, such as enhanced oil recovery, while the solvent is recycled and reused.

Pilot-scale testing of solvents began at the Babcock and Wilcox Research Center in June 2009 and will continue throughout 2010.