Cost and Emissions Reduction in CO 2 Capture Plant Dependent on Heat Exchanger Type and Different Process Configurations: Optimum Temperature Approach Analysis

Solomon Aforkoghene Aromada, Nils Henrik Eldrup and Lars Erik Øi
Additional contact information
Solomon Aforkoghene Aromada: Department of Process, Energy and Environmental Technology, University of South-Eastern Norway, Kjølnes Ring 56, 3918 Porsgrunn, Norway
Nils Henrik Eldrup: SINTEF Tel-Tek, SINTEF Industri, Forskningsparken, Hydrovegen 67, 3936 Porsgrunn, Norway
Lars Erik Øi: Department of Process, Energy and Environmental Technology, University of South-Eastern Norway, Kjølnes Ring 56, 3918 Porsgrunn, Norway

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-40

Abstract: The performance of a plate heat exchanger (PHE), in comparison with the conventional shell and tube types, through a trade-off analysis of energy cost and capital cost resulting from different temperature approaches in the cross-exchanger of a solvent-based CO 2 capture process, was evaluated. The aim was to examine the cost reduction and CO 2 emission reduction potentials of the different heat exchangers. Each specific heat exchanger type was assumed for the cross-exchanger, the lean amine cooler and the cooler to cool the direct contact cooler’s circulation water. The study was conducted for flue gases from a natural-gas combined-cycle power plant and the Brevik cement plant in Norway. The standard and the lean vapour compression CO 2 absorption configurations were used for the study. The PHE outperformed the fixed tube sheet shell and tube heat exchanger (FTS-STHX) and the other STHXs economically and in emissions reduction. The optimal minimum temperature approach for the PHE cases based on CO 2 avoided cost were achieved at 4 °C to 7 °C. This is where the energy consumption and indirect emissions are relatively low. The lean vapour compression CO 2 capture process with optimum PHE achieved a 16% reduction in CO 2 avoided cost in the cement plant process. When the available excess heat for the production of steam for 50% CO 2 capture was considered together with the optimum PHE case of the lean vapour compression process, a cost reduction of about 34% was estimated. That is compared to a standard capture process with FTS-STHX without consideration of the excess heat. This highlights the importance of the waste heat at the Norcem cement plant. This study recommends the use of plate heat exchangers for the cross-heat exchanger (at 4–7 °C), lean amine cooler and the DCC unit’s circulation water cooler. To achieve the best possible CO 2 capture process economically and in respect of emissions reduction, it is imperative to perform energy cost and capital cost trade-off analysis based on different minimum temperature approaches.

Keywords: techno-economic analysis; process simulation; CO 2 capture; MEA; waste heat (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/2/425/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/2/425/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:2:p:425-:d:719596

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().