Economical aspects of the CCS technology integration in the conventional power plant

One of the way to reduce the greenhouses gases emissions generated by the fossil fuels combustion consists in the Carbon Capture, Transport and Storage (CCS) technologies utilization. The integration of CCS technologies in the coal fired power plants increases the cost of the energy generation. The CCS technology could be a feasible solution in the case of a high value of a CO₂ certificate but for the present value an optimization of the CCS technology integration in the power plants is expected. However, for reducing the cost of the energy generated in the case of CCS integration in the power plants, a parametrical study optimization of the CO₂ capture process is required. In this study, the chemical absorption process was used and the monoethanolamine with 30 wt. %. The objective of this paper is to analyze the effects of the package type used in the absorption column on the size of the equipment used and, on the energy cost of the power plant with CO₂ capture process consequently. The packages types analyzed in this paper are metal Pall rings with different sizes and the rings are made of different metals: aluminum, nickel, cooper, and brass. In the case of metal Pall rings, the utilization of different material has an impact on the absorption column weight. Also, Pall rings made of plastics (polypropylene and polyethylene) were analyzed. The comparative assessment was achieved for a coal fired power plant with an installed power of 100 MW and considering the CO₂ capture process efficiency of 90 %.