A set of supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) power generation units began commercial operation on Saturday in southwest China's Guizhou Province, indicating that the country has pioneered the world in commercializing this innovative technology.
Named "Chaotan-1" (Super Carbon-1), the system uses supercritical CO2 instead of steam as the working fluid to transfer heat and generate power. Supercritical CO2 refers to carbon dioxide maintained at extremely high temperature and pressure, where it exhibits both liquid- and gas-like properties, making it a highly efficient medium for energy conversion.
By leveraging these properties, the new power generation units, which captures waste heat from industrial processes, achieve higher efficiency than conventional steam-based systems.
"The exhaust gas from a steel plant's sintering machine can be over 400 degrees Celsius hot. We use the gas to heat carbon dioxide, compress it to about 200 atmospheres with this machine, and then send it into a heat exchanger, where it absorbs residual heat from the waste gas to drive turbines to generate electricity." said Huang Yanping, chief scientist at China National Nuclear Corporation and chief designer of the Chaotan-1 project.
Thanks to the psychical properties of supercritical CO2, Chaotan-1 improves waste heat utilization efficiency by more than 85 percent compared with existing steam-based sintering waste heat power generators, while boosting net power output by over 50 percent, yielding significant economic returns.
"By converting industrial waste heat into electricity to the greatest extent possible, the project can generate around 50 million yuan (about 7.10 million U.S. dollars) in additional net cash flow annually at local electricity prices. The investment cost can be recovered in roughly three years," Huang said.
Industry experts say the project carries major strategic value. Zhang Xiaodong, deputy director of the Industrial Development Department at Dongfang Electric Corporation, described the project as a milestone.
"Any new technology goes through a process from quantitative accumulation to qualitative change. This project marks a key milestone, which may well serve as an example of strategic importance. Its success will pave the way for the rollout of similar projects in the future," he said.
China pioneers commercial use of supercritical CO2 power generation
