Mourad Younes is a science specialist at Saudi Aramco Research & Development Center. He is an expert in CO₂ capture technologies and focusing on developing innovative solutions for carbon management applications, especially in the hydrogen production and CO₂ capture arenas. Mourad’s research in oxy-combustion of heavy liquid fuels was recognized by the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF). Prior to joining Saudi Aramco, Mourad was a lead scientist at CEP-MINES ParisTech (Center for Energy and Processes) and among the firsts to develop cryogenic based CO₂ capture solutions that have now reached commercialization.

Mourad passion for the environment catalyzes his thinking and channels his efforts, which led him to build a significant knowledge in sustainable energy solutions and CO₂ capture technologies. Mourad is a mechanical engineer and holds a PhD in Energy Studies from Paris School of Mines.

Abstract

Cryogenic Carbon Capture in the Power Industry

Cryogenics started in the last decades of 1800’s with the liquefaction of oxygen and grew since to serve many applications at different temperature range. While first commercial cryogenic air separation plants required removing CO₂ traces from air to avoid freezing, CO₂ capture at large scale started the same era (1930’s) with different technology and requirements to upgrade natural gas.
CO₂ capture technologies flourished at the beginning of this century with the rising concerns on climate change and cryogenic solutions were pursued among other new concepts to decarbonize the power generation sector. While cryogenic technologies deemed commercial and economical, they have dealt with liquid and gases whereas CO₂ cryogenic solutions would have to deal with solids, increasing the complexity and the challenge.
The talk addresses the status of cryogenic CO₂ capture today, what are the latest developments and what are the bottlenecks to reach successful commercialization.