(160i) Carbon Dioxide Control Strategies for Power Generation Using Analytic Hierarchy Process

Climate change is one of the greatest and probably most challenging environmental, social and economical threats facing the world this century. Human activities have altered the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of significant quantities of greenhouse gases (GHGs), which remain in the atmosphere for long periods of time and intensify the natural greenhouse effect. Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, mainly CO₂, are likely to accelerate the rate of climate change.

Power generation is a major contributor to the climate change issue. The purpose of this study is to evaluate several available technologies to control CO2 emissions in power generation. Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) technique is used as a decision support tool to find the best technology under multi-criteria. These criteria are: cost, efficiency and lifetime or duration. The technique is illustrated in a case study. The results show that fuel balancing will be recommended for CO₂ reduction if the cost is the criteria of selection. Chemical looping Combustion technology is recommended if the efficiency is the criteria of selection. The current paper covers the set of criteria weights considered typical for power plants. The results presented here are illustrative and user defined weighting is required to make this study valuable for a specific group of users.