(98g) Techno-Economic Optimization and Cycle Schedule Analysis of Poly-Bed Vpsa Process for CO2 Capture from Natural Gas Emissions

Since the Industrial Revolution, greenhouse gas emissions have increased globally, accelerating global warming and climate change. Among these gases, carbon dioxide (CO₂) contributes the most to the greenhouse effect, accounting for over 70% of emissions. To mitigate the CO₂ emission into atmosphere, several capture technologies have been developed, including cryogenic liquefaction, liquid absorption, membrane separation, and adsorption. Vacuum pressure swing adsorption (VPSA) processes stand out among CO₂ capture technologies due to their low energy requirements, environmental sustainability, and operational flexibility. The growing reliance on natural gas for power and heat generation due to its lower carbon intensity compared to coal and oil, necessitates the development of CO₂ capture technologies tailored to natural gas exhaust. Therefore, in this work, a multi-objective techno-economic optimization of a poly-bed VPSA process for CO₂ capture from natural gas emissions was conducted. Specifically, the impact of varying the number of pressure equalization steps (from 1 to 5) and process variables on three objective functions, including CO₂ purity, recovery, and total annualized costs (TAC) were investigated.