Techno-economic performance of enhanced sodium carbonate-based CO2 capture process

Kristian Melin*, Markus Hurskainen, Miia Nevander, Tuula Kajolinna

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

Abstract

A simulation model was developed, and a techno-economic analysis (TEA) was conducted for a novel carbon dioxide capture process based on sodium carbonate solution. The key innovation in this process is the incorporation of a microbubble generator, which significantly enhances mass transfer and improves reaction rate. The model, based on prior experimental data, was used to evaluate CO2 capture costs for the non-optimized base case, identify key cost factors, and assess potential process improvements.
The base case capture cost was estimated at EUR 114–133/tCO2, which is higher than typical costs for amine absorption. The high costs are largely due to the high liquid flow rates required for efficient mass transfer and the need to maintain low solution concentrations to prevent salt precipitation. A notable advantage of the process is its low-temperature regeneration (∼65 °C), which enables the use of waste heat. When waste heat is available at no cost, capture costs could be reduced by EUR 30–40/tCO2. The use of a heat pump was found to be economically favorable when heat costs exceed EUR 13–20/MWh, depending on electricity prices. Increasing absorption pressure and temperature were found to be promising means for improving the process performance.
Original languageEnglish
Article number104310
JournalInternational Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control
Volume141
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2025
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

This work was supported by the E-fuel project (https://www.e-fuel.fi/) (accessed 27 February 2023), which received funding from Business Finland (Funding decision number 43287/31/2020). The work was also financially supported by Business Finland project Forest CUMP (https://www.forestcu2mp.fi/) (Funding decision number 2158/31/2022).

Keywords

  • CO capture
  • Microbubble
  • Soda
  • Sodium carbonate
  • Techno-economic assessment

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