Pre-combustion CO₂ capture

This paper, which is part of a special issue of the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, gives an overview of the latest achievements in the pre-combustion decarbonisation route for the production of electricity with CO₂ capture. Pre-combustion technologies applied to two different fuels are considered, natural gas and coal, since they cover most of electricity production from fossil fuels worldwide. The work first discusses in detail the different sections in which a power plant with pre-combustion CO₂ capture can be divided. For each section, the available technologies with corresponding advantages and disadvantages are presented. Next, the plant lay-outs for natural gas and coal proposed in literature, including heat & mass balances and the economic assessment, are discussed. In general, research activity in pre-combustion decarbonisation for power production focused more on coal than on natural gas-based plant since in the latter case the plant complexity and costs are not competitive with post-combustion CO₂ capture, which is a technology on the verge of commercialization. Finally the paper briefly discusses pre-combustion CO₂ capture in industry especially those projects where CO₂ is captured and stored or used for EOR.