Operational flexibility options in power plants with integrated post-combustion capture
article
tFlexibility in power plants with amine based carbon dioxide (CO2) capture is widely recognised as away of improving power plant revenues. Despite the prior art, its value as a way to improve powerplant revenues is still unclear. Most studies are based on simplifying assumptions about the capabili-ties of power plants to operate at part load and to regenerate additional solvent after interim storageof solvent. This work addresses this gap by examining the operational flexibility of supercritical coalpower plants with amine based CO2capture, using a rigorous fully integrated model. The part-load per-formance with capture and with additional solvent regeneration, of two coal-fired supercritical powerplant configurations designed for base load operation with capture, and with the ability to fully bypasscapture, is reported. With advanced integration options configuration, including boiler sliding pressurecontrol, uncontrolled steam extraction with a floating crossover pressure, constant stripper pressureoperation and compressor inlet guide vanes, a significant reduction of the electricity output penaltyat part load is observed. For instance at 50% fuel input and 90% capture, the electricity output penaltyreduces from 458 kWh/tCO2(with conventional integration options) to 345 kWh/tCO2(with advancedintegration options), compared to a reduction from 361 kWh/tCO2to 342 kWh/tCO2at 100% fuel inputand 90% capture. However, advanced integration options allow for additional solvent regeneration to alower magnitude than conventional integration options. The latter can maintain CO2flow export within10% of maximum flow across 30–78% of MCR (maximum continuous rating). For this configuration, onehour of interim solvent storage at 100% MCR is evaluated to be optimally regenerated in 4 h at 55% MCR,and 3 h at 30% MCR, providing rigorously validated useful guidelines for the increasing number of techno-economic studies on power plant flexibility, and CO2flow profiles for further studies on integrated CO2-networks.
Topics
TNO Identifier
954742
ISSN
17505836
Source
International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 48, pp. 275-289.
Publisher
Elsevier
Collation
15 p.
Place of publication
Amsterdam
Pages
275-289