Press releases

CO2 capture using amines: IFP Energies nouvelles is leading the ANR’s new “Dalmatien” project

03 February 2012

On 6 January 2012, the kick-off meeting of the "Dalmatien” (Degradation of Amines in Liquid Matrix and Analysis: Toxicity or Innocuousness for ENvironment - French name for Dalmatian) project for assessment of the potential environmental impact of CO₂ capture using amines was held at IFP Energies nouvelles’ Lyon site.

This 3-year project has been selected by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR – French National Research Agency) as part of its call for projects in the field of "Efficient and Low-Carbon Energy Systems". Led by IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN), the Dalmatien project brings together 4 other partners: CEHTRA, EDF, the Ecole Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles (ESPCI – School of Industrial Physics and Chemistry) and the Laboratoire de Réactivité de Surface (LRS – Surface Reactivity Laboratory) at Pierre et Marie Curie University (UMPC).

Dalmatien aims to identify all the products that could be generated by the use of chemical solvents (amines) to capture CO₂ in flue gases. It will also seek to understand how these products are formed and to determine their potential toxicity level.

The project will thus make it possible to identify and implement measures to limit any emissions of critical products as part of current and future environmental standards.

The various partners will contribute their complementary skills to the project, along with their laboratory equipment and pilot units.

Geological capture and storage is one of the solutions being studied to reduce CO₂ atmospheric emissions from industrial facilities. For this technology to be used on an industrial scale, it needs to be acceptable in both environmental and societal terms.

Studies conducted as part of the Dalmatien project will provide information to help manage the environmental impact of CO₂capture, and thereby improve its acceptability.

About the partners:

CEHTRA (Consultancy for Environmental & Human Toxicology and Risk Assessment) is an independent consulting company specializing in assessment of the risks of chemicals to human health and the environment. The company was founded in France in 2001 and, with over 40 consultants today, has the resources required to implement and monitor all the data necessary for registration of substances subject to European and national regulations. It has built up solid experience in the assessment of the risks to human health and the environment associated with the use of plant health products, biocidal products and chemicals. Its core business is the compilation of regulatory dossiers to be submitted for registration of controlled substances. CEHTRA toxicologists will participate in this project, bringing their expertise in the assessment of the toxicological profile of the identified degradation products of amines. This will include literature searches/synopses, and in silico assessments (QSAR).

The EDF group, one of Europe’s leading energy specialists, has developed an integrated network of companies supplying over 36 million customers throughout Europe. The EDF group has over 160,000 employees worldwide, in all energy-related activities: production, transport, distribution and energy services. EDF R&D supports the group in its technological choices and strategic directions, to ensure electricity remains competitively priced, prepare the production facilities of the future and improve the quality of its service, while protecting the environment and developing innovative solutions.
Reducing CO₂ emissions from its thermal power plants is one of the challenges that EDF is determined to meet in coming years. It is for this reason that EDF is continuing its research, along with other industrial partners, to test CO₂ capture and storage technologies that may be able to reduce – and then practically eliminate – CO2 emissions. EDF is working with Alstom and ADEME, for example, to construct an innovative CO₂ capture research demonstrator at unit No. 4 of its coal-fired power plant in Le Havre.

The “Analytical, Bioanalytical and Miniaturization Sciences” laboratory at the Ecole Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris (ESPCI-ParisTech) (24 permanent staff, co-managers: P. Gareil/V. Pichon) is a team from the PECSA Joint Research Unit (UMR UPMC-CNRS-ESPCI 7195, 80 permanent staff, Manager: P. Levitz). Two groups from this team, housed at ESPCI, are participating in this project. The first has built up significant skills in the field of liquid chromatography, sample processing, trace and ultra-trace analysis, processing methods with or without online coupling to chromatographic methods and the miniaturization of these tools. It is world renowned for its activities in the field of solid phase extraction and the development of selective supports, such as immune-adsorbents and molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs). The second group has solid expertise in two-dimensional gas, liquid or supercritical chromatographic separation techniques. It also develops innovative approaches to conduct ultra-rapid chip-based gas-phase separation.

IFP Energies nouvelles is a world-class public-sector research, innovation and training center active in the fields of energy, transport and the environment. Its mission is to provide public players and industry with efficient, economical, clean and sustainable technologies to take up the challenges facing society in terms of climate change, energy diversification and water resource management. It boasts world-class expertise.
A leader in the field of CO₂ capture and storage research, IFPEN will bring its expertise in CO₂ capture processes and, in particular, the chemical stability of amines.

Laboratoire de Réactivité de Surface The (LRS – Surface Reactivity Laboratory) is a UPMC-CNRS joint research unit. Its studies are dedicated to the synthesis and optimization of inorganic materials functionalized for heterogeneous catalysis or biological medium applications. To understand reactivities, it is necessary to implement an integrated approach, from examination of well defined surfaces (monocristals, thin films) to study of divided solids (oxides, porous materials, nanoparticles) thanks, in particular, to the development of techniques for the characterization of active sites and interfaces in the presence of gas or liquid reagents. The members of the “Eco- and Biocompatible Chemistry” team involved in this project will contribute their expertise in the study of mechanisms for oxidation reactions in solution in the presence of heterogeneous catalysts.