Media and Process Technology Inc., in partnership with the University of Southern California and Technip Stone and Webster Process Technology Inc., will conduct testing of an innovative carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture process for coal-based integrated gasification combined cycle plants. The dual-stage membrane-based process combines two membrane technologies to accomplish cost-effective pre-combustion CO₂capture. The process comprises a hydrogen (H₂)-selective carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membrane in a water-gas shift (WGS) membrane reactor (MR) for primary hydrogen recovery in tandem with a novel palladium (Pd)-based membrane for residual H₂ recovery. A high degree of H₂ recovery and CO₂ capture efficiency can be achieved with the two-step membrane process while avoiding the capital and compression costs associated with conventional two-stage operation. Laboratory-scale testing of the WGS/MR system will be performed using simulated synthesis gas (syngas) to establish a performance database that covers a range of operating conditions and to validate the existing mathematical model. A bench-scale (0.01 MWe) system capable of testing the CMS-WGS/MR and Pd-based membrane will be designed and fabricated, and field testing will be performed at the National Carbon Capture Center using real syngas. Data collected will be analyzed to evaluate gas separation efficiency and carbon monoxide conversion, as well as long-term material stability performance of the membranes. The field test results will form the input performance database for a rigorous engineering, economic, and environmental analysis for the process.