• Energy Research

Decarbonization of energy-intensive systems (e.g., heat and power generation, iron, and steel production, petrochemical processes, cement production, etc.) is an important task for the development of a low carbon economy. In this respect, carbon capture technologies will play an important role in the decarbonization of fossil-based industrial processes. The most significant techno-economic and environmental performance indicators of various fossil-based industrial applications decarbonized by two reactive gas-liquid (chemical scrubbing) and gas-solid CO2 capture systems are calculated, compared, and discussed in the present work. As decarbonization technologies, the gas-liquid chemical absorption and more innovative calcium looping systems were employed. The integrated assessment uses various elements, e.g., conceptual design of decarbonized plants, computer-aided tools for process design and integration, evaluation of main plant performance indexes based on industrial and simulation results, etc. The overall decarbonization rate for various assessed applications (e.g., power generation, steel, and cement production, chemicals) was set to 90% in line with the current state of the art in the field. Similar non-carbon capture plants are also assessed to quantify the various penalties imposed by decarbonization (e.g., increasing energy consumption, reducing efficiency, economic impact, etc.). The integrated evaluations exhibit that the integration of decarbonization technologies (especially chemical looping systems) into key energy-intensive industrial processes have significant advantages for cutting the carbon footprint (60–90% specific CO2 emission reduction), improving the energy conversion yields and reducing CO2 capture penalties.

Abstract Among various configurations of fossil fuel power plants with carbon dioxide capture, this paper focuses on pre-combustion capture technology applied to an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle power plant using gas–liquid absorption. The paper proposes a detailed study and optimization of plant design (column height and packed dimensions) with CO 2 capture process using different solvents as: aqueous solutions of alkanolamine, dimethyl ethers of polyethylene glycol, chilled methanol and N-Methyl-2-pyrolidone. By developing simulations in Aspen Plus, the following performance results of these physical and chemical solvents, mentioned above, are discussed: overall energy consumption (power consumption, heating and cooling agent consumption), CO 2 specific emissions, net electric power output and plant efficiency. The paper presents as well, the total investment capital cost of an IGCC coal mixed with biomass (sawdust) power plant generating 425–450 MW net electricity with (70% CO 2 capture, 80% CO 2 capture and 90% CO 2 capture) and without pre-combustion CO 2 capture. Simulation results show that for evaluated solvents for CO 2 capture, the physical solvent, dimethyl ethers of polyethylene glycol, is more energy efficient that the other physical and chemical solvents investigated. Regarding the economic study, implementation of pre-combustion CO 2 capture on IGCC plant, using dimethyl ethers of polyethylene glycol, leads to an increase of the capital cost with about 19.55% for 70% CO 2 capture, 20.91% for 80% CO 2 capture and 22.55% for 90% CO 2 capture.

Abstract Hydrogen is an energy carrier that represents a possible clean fuel of the future. This paper assesses the effect of biomass co-firing on gasification based hydrogen production supply chain, with carbon dioxide capture and storage, from technical, economical and environmental point of view. Several cases consisting of various feedstocks to the gasification reactor are investigated (coal only and coal in mixture with sawdust or wheat straw). Considered plant concepts generate between 330 and 460 MW hydrogen of 99.99% (vol.) purity. First a performance analysis regarding the energy efficiency of the process, the syngas composition and the carbon dioxide capture rate is carried out. The simulations are made using chemical process simulation software Aspen Plus. Second, total capital investment and operating costs for the gasification plant are evaluated. Finally, using the results from Aspen Plus simulations and the cost estimations, a discrete event model is developed, to address hydrogen production supply chain analysis under demand variability, with Arena software. The implications of biomass co-firing on the system are evaluated in terms of: hydrogen amount sold and hydrogen amount stored (MW), hydrogen lost sales amount (MW), partial sales percent and gasification plant profit. The results show that as the biomass quantity in the feedstock increases the hydrogen production rate decreases by 9–28% for sawdust, respectively by 7–23% for wheat straw. The energy efficiency of the process and the gasification plant profit also decrease, but the CO 2 emissions are lower for the cases of biomass co-firing.

AbstractThe co-production of electricity and hydrogen from fossil fuels with the simultaneous capture of CO2 is an attractive proposal for the future European power generation system. A plant based on this technology and with the ability to vary the electricity-tohydrogen output could operate in base-load mode irrespective of the electricity demand, with significant economic advantages. This paper focuses on this type of plant fuelled by coal and lignite and identifies the most suitable gasification technologies that could be adopted for each fuel type, proposes optimal plant configurations and assesses plant performance.

Owing to residual biomass availability, the share of advanced biofuels produced from secondary biomass is forecasted to increase and significantly contribute towards achieving net-zero emissions. The current work investigates bio-methanol production through a new process configuration designed to improve the environmental performance when compared to the state-of-the art technologies (Base Case). The environmental evaluation is conducted according to the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. ReCiPe was employed as an impact assessment method with the aid of GaBi software. Depending on the plant geographical location, wooden biomass and exhausted olive pomace were evaluated as biomass sources. A scenario analysis targeting different energy sources was performed as well. The outcome of the environmental evaluation highlights a better performance in eight of a total of nine impact categories studied in the wooden biomass scenarios compared to the exhausted olive pomace. Moreover, two of the CONVERGE technology cases were compared against the Base Case. As the results show, CONVERGE technology registers a lower score in at least six of the impact categories studied. Concerning the total CO2 emissions, CONVERGE exhibits a better performance compared to the Base Case, if the additional amount of CO2 is either stored, sold as a by-product or vented into the atmosphere.

Abstract Gasification is a promising technology in terms of reducing carbon capture energy and cost penalties as well as for multi-fuel multi-product operation capability. The paper evaluates two carbon capture options in terms of main techno-economic indicators. The first option involves pre-combustion capture, the syngas being catalytically shifted to convert carbon species into CO2 and H2. Gas–liquid absorption is used for separate H2S and CO2 capture, then clean gas is used for power generation. The second capture option is based on post-combustion capture using chemical absorption. The most promising gasifiers were evaluated in a CCS design. Evaluated coal-based gasification concepts generate 300–500 MW net power with a flexible hydrogen output from zero up to 200 MW with carbon capture rate higher than 90%. The main techno-economic and environmental indicators of evaluated plant concepts with CCS were presented in detail in the context of development of a large scale CCS project in Romania. The evaluations of the IGCC designs with CCS were done in comparison with the conventional IGCC without CCS. The integrated assessments show that IGCC with pre-combustion capture is one promising technology for the future low-carbon economy.

The present deliverable focuses on the environmental evaluation using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology of the RESTORE prototype, which combines the Organic Rankine cycle / Heat pump and Thermochemical Energy Storage technology. The following processes are taken into account when conducting the LCA study: i) upstream processes: raw material supply chains (e.g., Novec 649 supply chain, copper sulphate supply chain, oil procurement and production, RESTORE prototype construction) ii) thermal energy charging and discharging cycles; and iii) downstream processes: recycling of Novec 649, copper sulphate, and oil; wastewater treatment and purification. Traditional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been employed to thoroughly address each of the four stages of LCA: 1) defining the objective, parameters, and limits of the system 2) assessing the input-output inventory 3) evaluating the impact on the environment 4) analysing the results while offering recommendations for improved performance.