(564f) Life Cycle Analysis of the Implementation of CO2 Capture Process in Power Plants: Effect of Type of Fuel and Energy Demand

Because of current high concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere, global warming is one of the main challenges to solve in the 21st century. The burning of fuels generates around 32 Gton of carbon dioxide per year, 40% are related to the generation of electricity and about 20% to the operation of the chemical and petrochemical industry. Although CO2 cannot be eliminated as a product of combustion, it is possible to reduce CO2 emissions with the implementation of different technologies named CO2 capture or transport and storage (CCS). Among the different technologies for the CCS, post- combustion CO2 capture using alkanolamines as a solvent, is the most developed technology and is also considered to be the most feasible method. In recent years, several authors have emphasized the need to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the capture process, since a wider vision prove if the energy used during the regeneration of solvents, as well as in the transport and storage of CO2, the environmental benefit can be minimal or even zero. Some studies have been reported the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) as a quite useful tool to evaluate the environmental impact of different CO2 capture systems. In general, it has been shown that in order to reduce the environmental impact through the use of these capture systems, initially it is essential to improve the efficiency of the process during the generation of electricity since the coupling of the capture plant can significantly reduce the efficiency of the combined cycle. In the present work, the environmental impact of coupling a CO2 capture plant to an electric power generation plant was evaluated. The use of four different fuels in the power plant was considered; biogas, coal, non- associated natural gas, and an associated natural gas. Two operating scenarios were considered; in the first, the same fuel flow was considered for all the plants and in the second, the same energy demand was specified. The design and simulation of the process plants were developed through the use of the ASPEN Plus simulator, while the LCA was carried out with the SIMAPro software.