Site Visit

The 30 MWth Oxyfuel Pilot Plant Schwarze Pumpe

The construction of the 30 MWthermal pilot plant at Schwarze Pumpe in Germany is an important milestone for the Vattenfall project. It is the necessary scale-up link between initial engineering and successful operation of the future 250 – 350 MWelectricity demonstration plant.

The pilot plant  is in operation since September 2008. The initial testing programm will run for three years. Thereafter, the pilot plant will be available for other tests. It is believed that the pilot plant will be in operation for at least 10 years.

Lignite is combusted in a mixture of oxygen and re-circulated CO2, which also contains water vapour. The flue gas is then treated and sulphur oxides, particles and other contaminants are removed. Finally, the water is condensed and the concentrated CO2 compressed into liquid.

The purpose of the pilot plant is to validate engineering work, to learn and better understand the dynamics of Oxyfuel combustion and to demonstrate the capture technology. Eventually, the pilot plant will be used for backup testing for the demonstration plant testing programme, once the latter has started.

Don’t miss our landmark site visit to the world’s first Oxyfuel pilot plant at Schwarze Pumpe.