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.