Techno-economic assessment of absorption-based CO₂ capture process based on novel solvent for coal-fired power plant

Abstract

A wide range of CO2 capture technologies are currently under development, and their techno-economics must be systematically assessed to gain an understanding of the strengths and shortcomings associated with their practical implementation. Existing methods are either too narrow or simplified to assess the economic effects associated with technical improvement in absorbent performance and/or process development for the CO2 capture-integrated process. In this study, a techno-economic assessment (TEA) methodology is developed, based on the multiple-parameter scaling method (MPSM), which enables the systematic and confident evaluation of the economic impacts of the CO2 capture-integrated process. Potential benefits of process integration between CO2 capture and CO2-emitting systems were fully investigated, as synergetic advantages can be gained by facilitating system-wide heat and power recovery in a holistic manner. The TEA method proposed in this study is validated by comparing that of the DOE/NETL. The TEA is then applied for CO2 capture processes based on monoethanolamine (MEA) and a novel absorbent, both of which are energetically integrated with a power plant. The CO2 capture cost localized under plant engineering environment of the Republic of Korea is estimated at 35.5 USD2015/tCO(2) for the MEA-based process, where 3.5 GJ/tCO(2) is consumed as regeneration energy. Meanwhile, use of the novel absorbent, requiring 2.17 GJ/tCO(2) for solvent regeneration, results in a 25.7 USD2015/tCO(2) CO2 capture cost, which is approximately 15% lower than CANSOLV (R)-based capture process. The sensitivity of key economic and process design parameters is studied, including the carbon emission penalty, changes in absorbent performance, and impact of location-dependent parameters.