Supported amine sorbents versus aqueous amine solutions for post-combustion CO2 capture at pulverized coal and NGCC power plants: an outlook

摘要

The feasibility of a CO2 capture process based on supported amine sorbents (SAS) is evaluated for application in post-combustion CO2 capture. The effect on energy efficiency for a typical coal fired power plant, as well as for a natural gas combined-cycle (NGCC) power plant, was evaluated using the Spence~(fi) software tool developed by DNV-KEMA. Based on the simulations performed, application of a SAS-based capture facility at a typical natural gas combined-cycle (NGCC) plant is potentially 32% more energy efficient than a MEA-based capture facility. For a typical coal fired plant, a SAS-based capture facility could even be 35% more energy efficient than a MEA-based capture facility. In view of CapEx, it was found that an adsorber for the use of SAS can be about 60% smaller in volume than an absorber for the use of MEA solvent. This is due to a higher allowable gas velocity and faster mass transfer, and results in significant CapEx reduction, next to energy savings.