BECCS with combined heat and power : Assessing the energy penalty

• Bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is widely recognised as an important carbon dioxide removal technology. Nevertheless, BECCS has mostly failed to move beyond small-scale demonstration units. One main factor is the energy penalty incurred on power plants. In previous studies, this penalty has been determined to be 37.2 %?48.6 % for the amine capture technology. The aim of this study is to quantify the energy penalty for adding the hot potassium carbonate (HPC) capture technology to a biomass-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant, connected to a district heating system. In this context, the energy driving the capture process is partly recovered as useful district heating. Therefore, a modified energy penalty is proposed, with the inclusion of recovered heat. This inclusion is especially meaningful if the heat has a substantial monetary value. The BECCS system is examined using thermodynamic analysis, coupled with modelling of the capture process in Aspen PlusTM. Model validation is performed with data from a BECCS test facility. The results of this study show that the modified energy penalty is in the range of 2%?4%. These findings could potentially increase the attractiveness of BECCS as a climate abatement option in a district heating CHP setting.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Naturresursteknik -- Energisystem (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Environmental Engineering -- Energy Systems (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Maskinteknik -- Energiteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Mechanical Engineering -- Energy Engineering (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Bio-energy with carbon capture and storage

(BECCS)

CO2 capture

Combined heat and power

Energy penalty

Chemical absorption

(K2CO3)

Modelling and simulation

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)