Multi-Criteria Assessment of Chemical Solvents for Capturing CO2 from Stationary Sources

Choosing the most suitable chemical solvent for capturing the CO2 depends on the power plants characteristic, the fuel type used, the performances of the CO2 capture methods and on the economic scenario considered. In this context, it has been raised the question of identifying the ecological influence of the CO2 capture processes integration within the thermoelectric power plants. Thus, an increase/decrease in CO2 capture efficiency with 5% led to a decrease/increase with 20% of the GWP indicator. However, an increase of other environmental impact indicators such as human toxicity, eutrophication, photochemical pollution, etc., has been observed due to the integration of the CO2 capture method in lignite-fired installations and gaseous fuel power plants respectively. In the case of thermoelectric power plants based on gaseous fuel, by integrating the CCS process, a 65% reduction in the GWP indicator is achieved, but also a 20% increase in the acidification indicator, respectively, a 60% increase in human toxicity has been observed. In this paper we introduce a technical-economic and ecologic assessment of the thermo-electrical power plant with steam turbine which uses local lignite and natural gas as fuel. The focus was on highlighting the effects that the integration of CO2 separation technology by chemical absorption utilizing various chemical solvents (ethanolamine, diethanolamine, triethanolamine and blended amines such as ethanolamine – diethanolamine, diethanolamine-triethanolamine) has on the technical-economic and environmental performances of the thermo-electrical pilots