Membrane Technology and Research (MTR; Newark, Calif.) Carbon Capture announced it has commenced construction of a large pilot plant at the Wyoming Integrated Test Center (ITC) in Gillette, Wyoming. When operational in 2024, it will be the largest capture plant based on clean membrane technology in the world.
MTR Carbon Capture will operate out of ITC’s Large Test Center to collect CO2 from flue gas produced by Basin Electric’s Dry Fork Station, a coal-based power plant firing Powder River Basin coal. The Wyoming ITC is one of the world’s largest post-combustion demonstration-scale test facilities.
MTR Carbon Capture will use its proprietary Polaris polymeric membrane to capture more than 150 tons of CO2 each day at Dry Fork Station. The process uses no chemicals and requires little water, making its approach to carbon capture cleaner and more environmentally friendly than conventional solvent-based carbon capture methods.
“To meet the world’s decarbonization goals the energy transition must start by modernizing existing power and industrial facilities with proven carbon capture technology,” says MTR Carbon Capture President Brett Andrews. “Our Polaris membrane is backed by 15 years of research, development, and testing to create an effective and environmentally friendly carbon capture solution.”
The project is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s large-scale pilot carbon capture program. The program supports the development of transformational technologies that will significantly improve the efficiency, effectiveness, costs, emissions reductions, and environmental performance of carbon capture.