Techno-economic analysis of a poly-generation solar-assisted chemical looping combustion power plant

Chemical looping combustion (CLC) is a promising technique for CO2 capture with low energy penalty and low cost. In addition to capturing CO2, the solar-assisted CLC process results in the production of significant amount of exhaust waste heat which could be utilized for a variety of purposes. This paper outlines a detailed techno-economic analysis of a solar-assisted natural gas fired CLC power plant with waste heat utilization for absorption chilling purpose. This is particularly important for hot regions such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where a significant amount of energy is used for cooling purposes. The power plant studied is about 550 MWe net output power. The study was conducted by developing an Aspen Plus system model. The model was used to calculate the heat recovery efficiency, the absorption chilling system coefficient of performance and the plant efficiency. The economic performance of the plant was analyzed by calculating the cost of electricity, the return on investment and the cost of CO2 capture. The analysis shows that the poly-generation solar-assisted CLC system had a plant efficiency of 63.4%, waste heat utilization of 49%, electricity cost of 4.9 cents/kWh and the return on investment of 3.98 years at prevalent prices of the plant input materials and a capacity factor of 85 percent.