Optimization of post-combustion CO2 process using DEA–MDEA mixtures

NÉSTOR RODRIGUEZ; SERGIO F. MUSSATI; NICOLÁS J. SCENNA

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH & DESIGN

INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS

Año: 2010

0263-8762

This paper presents optimal operating conditions of the post-combustion CO2 capture process with aqueous amine solutions obtained by using a process simulator (HYSYS). Precisely, the process to capture CO2 from flue gases of combined cycle power plants involving three alkanolamine solutions are studied in detail (Methyldiethanolamine MDEA, DiEthanolAmine DEA and MDEA-DEA mixture). The design problem addressed in this paper consists of specifying the optimal operating conditions (inlet and outlet temperature of lean solution stream on the absorber, CO2 loading, amine composition and flow-rates, among others) for achieving given CO2 emission targets at minimum total annual cost. A detailed objective function including total operating costs and investment is considered. The influence of the variation of CO2 reduction targets and the mixing proportion of amines on the total annual cost is analyzed in detail. Numerical results are presented and discussed through different case studies.   From the obtained results, it is proved that process simulators can be used as a powerful tool not only to simulate but also to optimize the most important design parameters of the post-combustion CO2 capture process.