A technical, environmental, and economic assessment of amine-based carbon capture systems for greenhouse gas control

A general modeling framework has been developed to assess the wide range of options for capture of CO₂ from combustion-based power generation sources, and for its secure storage (sequestration). This research was focused on the post-combustion CO₂ capture using amine-based absorption systems. Performance and cost modules for this technology have been developed on the basis of detailed process simulations and reported data. These modules have been integrated with an existing fossil-fuel-based power plant simulation model (IECM) with a menu of post-combustion environmental controls for criteria pollutants. Uncertainties and variability in various design, performance and cost parameters have also been characterized.; The model has been applied to study the feasibility and cost of carbon capture and sequestration at both new and existing pulverized coal (PC) plants as well as at new natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) plants. These case studies help in understanding the impact of this technology on the power plant performance, environmental emissions and costs on a systematic basis. Amine-based CO ₂ capture from power plant flue gas is a highly energy-intensive process. Amine retrofits on existing coal plants as well as amine-based CO₂ capture from NGCC flue gas might be attractive because of the relatively lower capital requirement and cost of electricity; however, the cost of CO₂ avoidance in these applications strongly depends on the price of natural gas and is likely to be higher than that for a new coal plant. The case studies also revealed multi-pollutant interactions and potential tradeoffs in the capture of CO₂, SO₂, NO₂ and NH₃. The current cost of CO₂ mitigation using this technology, which is sensitive to the assumptions made about the reference plant, is substantially high especially when compared to IGCC systems.; An attempt was made to understand what experts in this field think about possible improvement in some of the key performance and cost parameters relevant to amine systems. It seems the current amine-based CO₂ capture system could be improved significantly and cost of CO₂ capture could be reduced substantially via targeted R&D in some of the key areas, although there is lot of uncertainty regarding the cost reduction.