(80c) Integrated Process Design and Optimization for Post-Combustion CO2 Capture Using Amine Solvent

One of main sources of CO₂ emissions is power generation from fossil fuel-fired power plants. Although post-combustion capture process using amine-based absorbent is well established in industries, the main limitation is to consume considerable energy for the regeneration of solvents.

This study deals with modeling and optimization of CO₂ capture process with monoethanolamine (MEA). A commercial simulator UniSim Design^® has been chosen to model the chemical absorption process for CO₂ capture and the model is validated against literature pilot plants data. Sensitivity analysis is carried out with various design parameters influencing the process efficiency, such as CO₂ lean loading, solvent circulation rate, and reboiler duty.

Focus has been made to find optimal configuration and operating conditions, leading to reduction in regeneration energy without compromising separation efficiency. A superstructure-based approach is adopted to determine the most appropriate structural options and operating conditions simultaneously. Process Integration techniques are strategically applied to decrease energy penalty, investigating system interactions within the capture process. The process optimization is carried out by a stochastic solver available in MATLAB^®, linking with the process simulator. An objective function is set to minimize total operating costs, subject to economic parameters and engineering constraints.

A case study is presented to demonstrate how the proposed modeling and optimization framework is effective for saving regeneration energy and investigating different design options in a holistic manner.

Acknowledgement:

This work was supported by the "Energy Efficiency & Resources Programs" of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) grant funded by the Korea government Ministry of Knowledge Economy (No. 20122010200071).