Review of recent process developments in the field of carbon dioxide (CO2) capture from power plants flue gases and the future perspectives

Abstract

ABSTRACTA comprehensive review of recent process developments in the field of post-combustion carbon dioxide (CO2) capture from power plant flue gases is presented in this article. Different types of technologies for post-combustion CO2 capture namely: Absorption, Membrane, and Adsorption (AMA), were evaluated based on their CO2 recovery, energy efficiency, and cost. The study examines the fundamentals of each process, including their advantages and limitations, and highlights the recent advancements made in these areas. Specifically, the paper provides an overview of developments in each process area and discusses the development of new process configurations and the optimisation of existing ones with a view to identify the optimal process route. The two-stage-hybrid configurations were identified as the optimal process configurations that will meet the required needs in terms of energy efficiency, cost savings, and the desired CO2 purity and recovery of ≥95mol% and ≥97mol% respectively. However, techno-economic analyses are still needed to identify the best configuration. Thus the review concludes by emphasising the need for further research and development on techno-economic analyses to identify the best configuration in the two-stage-hybrid options for post-combustion carbon capture technology to be viable for commercialisation. HighlightsClimate change results from global warming caused by CO2 emissions, mainly from fossil fuel power plants.Post-combustion CO2 capture technologies involve absorption, adsorption, and membrane separations.The CO2 capture process configurations can be single-stage, multi-stage, or hybridThe combined two-stage-hybrid configurations were found to be the optimal process route for post-combustion CO2 capture in terms of CO2 recovery/purity, energy efficiency, and cost savings.

Keywords

• Global warming
• greenhouse gases (CO2)
• carbon capture
• climate change
• hybrid process configurations