LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., Dec. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Air Products (NYSE: APD) announced today it has signed a cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and will now move forward on phase one of a potential two-phase program to conduct an engineering study and project plan to capture, concentrate and purify carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from industrial operations for use in enhanced oil recovery work. DOE in October had announced several carbon capture related proposals to receive initial funding from the $1.4 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Air Products’ engineering study and plan will be among several to be evaluated in 2010 by DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory for potential additional funding of the overall project.

The two-phase project proposes to design and construct a state-of-the-art system to capture CO2 from Air Products’ steam methane reformers (SMR) located at a refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. Phase two of the project would propose to recover and purify the CO2 for delivery via pipeline for enhanced oil recovery in Texas. The phase one funding, valued at $901,874, will also further define the method of CO2 delivery to the pipeline.

“We are pleased to have been awarded funding from DOE for this important project. We believe our effort is unique in that the proposed site has large scale SMRs located in close proximity to one another for this demonstration. Air Products has been involved in several carbon capture demonstration projects around the world, and this extends our efforts with focus on the capture of CO2 from the industrial production of hydrogen,” said Wilbur Mok, vice president, North America Tonnage Gases for Air Products. More information on Air Products’ CO2 purification technologies can be found at www.airproducts.com/CO2_capture.

DOE said in its earlier release that the successful development of advanced technologies and innovative concepts reducing emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is a key objective of the Obama Administration’s effort to help mitigate the effects of climate change. DOE’s initial news release is at www.energy.gov/news2009/8102.htm.

Air Products is currently working on several carbon capture and storage demonstration projects around the world for the power market. In March 2009 Air Products announced its key role in the world’s first full demonstration of oxyfuel carbon capture and sequestration with the signing of an agreement with Vattenfall AB, one of Europe’s leading energy companies. Air Products is installing its proprietary CO2 capture, purification and compression system at Vattenfall’s research and development facility in Schwarze Pumpe, Germany, which is viewed globally as the preeminent CO2 oxyfuel project. Air Products’ pilot plant is to be operational at Schwarze Pumpe in December 2010. Also in March, the company announced work with DOE to design and construct a CO2 purification system, which is to be onstream in early 2010, in support of an oxyfuel technology development project at a boiler simulation facility in Windsor, Connecticut.

In 2008, Air Products announced that oxyfuel sour compression technology had been demonstrated in experimental work carried out by Imperial College London with flue gas from a 160 kilowatt coal-fired combustion installation at Doosan Babcock’s facility in Renfrew, Scotland, as part of the Oxycoal-UK Project. Air Products has also announced a CO2 capture study for gasification in collaboration with the Alberta Energy Research Institute. The study, focused on advanced carbon dioxide capture technology for use with gasification, is to be completed in October 2010.

Additionally, in January 2009, a team led by Air Products and including Imperial College London and Doosan Babcock Energy Ltd. was presented the Rushlight Carbon Capture and Storage Award 2008 for work addressing impurity removal in CO2 waste streams from coal-fired power plants. The Rushlight Awards promote and celebrate the leading environmental technologies and innovations by organizations throughout the UK and Ireland.

Air Products (NYSE: APD) serves customers in industrial, energy, technology and healthcare markets worldwide with a unique portfolio of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, and equipment and services. Founded in 1940, Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. The company is recognized for its innovative culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the environment. In fiscal 2009, Air Products had revenues of $8.3 billion, operations in over 40 countries, and 18,900 employees around the globe. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.

***NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements. Actual results could vary materially, due to changes in current expectations.

SOURCE Air Products