En Route to Zero Emissions for Power and Industry with Amine-Based Post-combustion Capture

As more countries commit to a net-zero GHG emission target, we need a whole energy and industrial system approach to decarbonization rather than focus on individual emitters. This paper presents a techno-economic analysis of monoethanolamine-based post-combustion capture to explore opportunities over a diverse range of power and industrial applications. The following ranges were investigated: feed gas flow rate between 1-1000 kg.s(-1), gas CO2 concentrations of 2-42%(mol), capture rates of 70-99%, and interest rates of 2-20%. The economies of scale are evident when the flue gas flow rate is <20 kg.s(-1) and gas concentration is below 20%(mol) CO2. In most cases, increasing the capture rate from 90 to 95% has a negligible impact on capture cost, thereby reducing CO2 emissions at virtually no additional cost. The majority of the investigated space has an operating cost fraction above 50%. In these instances, reducing the cost of capital (i.e., interest rate) has a minor impact on the capture cost. Instead, it would be more beneficial to reduce steam requirements. We also provide a surrogate model which can evaluate capture cost from inputs of the gas flow rate, CO2 composition, capture rate, interest rate, steam cost, and electricity cost.

Automated summary

The paper analyzes the impact of various parameters on capture cost and finds that increasing the capture rate under specific conditions can reduce CO2 emissions at almost no additional cost. However, operating costs still remain relatively high, requiring more focus on reducing steam requirements.