A new type of power cycle under development is being touted as the potential ‘holy grail’ of carbon emissions capture.
The Allam Cycle is a new process for converting fossil fuels into power, while capturing the generated C02 and water.
According to developer, the process uses the “oxy-combustion” of carbon fuels and a high-pressure supercritical CO2 working fluid in a highly recuperated cycle that captures all emissions by design.
In laymans terms, it uses high pressure CO2, instead of steam, as the system working fluid.
This generates emissions-free electricity from carbon-based fuels for lower costs than traditional, emitting technologies.
The only by-products are liquid water and a stream of high-purity, pipeline-ready CO2.
The main inventor behind the process is English engineer Rodney John Allam
The cycle can utilize a variety of fuels, including natural gas, unprocessed raw and sour gas, and gasified solid fuels such as coal or biomass.
The Allam Cycle can be applied to a variety of fuels and fuel sources – including natural gas, coal, biomass, and solar – and integrates with many industrial process.
