At present,werely greatly on fossil fuels to provide affordable
electricity, which is the basis of the economy and our daily
lives. Many energy forecasts predict that this situation will
last for a while or possible even become worse in the future.
Flue gas from power plants, especially from coal-burning
power plants, is one of the major sources for the generation
of CO2 as a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Therefore,
development of CO2 reduction techniques is an urgent
necessity (1). Since the flue gas from a coal-burner is hot (for
example, around 400 °C after the economizer), it is highly
desirable to separateCO2 from flue gas at a high temperature
without cooling the flue gas to room temperature or even
lower. Transformation of the captured warmCO2 into usable
or valuable products (e.g., fuels or chemicals) (2), if it becomes
possible, will improve further the efficiency and economics
of overall processes for power generation and CO2 sequestration.