Carbon capture and storage is one family of technologies that could be used to significantly reduce global carbon dioxide (C O2 ) emissions. This paper reviews the likely flexibility of power plants with postcombustion capture, with a focus on an improved characterization of the dynamic performance of power plants with C O2 capture. The literature has focused on design and optimization for steady state operation of power plants with capture, often at a single design point. When dynamic behavior is considered, it is possible that designs should be altered for best overall plant performance. Economic trade-offs between improving transport and storage scheme flexibility and constraining power plant operations should also be carefully analyzed, particularly if the captured C O2 is to be used in another process such as enhanced oil recovery. Another important aspect of real plant operation will be adhering to legislative requirements. Further work is required to identify mechanisms that allow flexible operatio...

Flexibility in power plants with amine based carbon dioxide (CO2) capture is widely recognised as a way of improving power plant revenues. Despite the prior art, its value as a way to improve power plant revenues is still unclear. Most studies are based on simplifying assumptions about the capabilities of power plants to operate at part load and to regenerate additional solvent after interim storage of solvent. This work addresses this gap by examining the operational flexibility of supercritical coal power plants with amine based CO2 capture, using a rigorous fully integrated model. The part-load performance with capture and with additional solvent regeneration, of two coal-fired supercritical power plant configurations designed for base load operation with capture, and with the ability to fully bypass capture, is reported. With advanced integration options configuration, including boiler sliding pressure control, uncontrolled steam extraction with a floating crossover pressure, constant stripper pressure operation and compressor inlet guide vanes, a significant reduction of the electricity output penalty at part load is observed. For instance at 50% fuel input and 90% capture, the electricity output penalty reduces from 458kWh/tCO2 (with conventional integration options) to 345kWh/tCO2 (with advanced integration options), compared to a reduction from 361kWh/tCO2 to 342kWh/tCO2 at 100% fuel input and 90% capture. However, advanced integration options allow for additional solvent regeneration to a lower magnitude than conventional integration options. The latter can maintain CO2 flow export within 10% of maximum flow across 30–78% of MCR (maximum continuous rating). For this configuration, one hour of interim solvent storage at 100% MCR is evaluated to be optimally regenerated in 4h at 55% MCR, and 3h at 30% MCR, providing rigorously validated useful guidelines for the increasing number of techno-economic studies on power plant flexibility, and CO2 flow profiles for further studies on integrated CO2 networks

The business case for investment in power plants with CO 2 capture is greatly improved if they are able to accommodate uncertainty in future market conditions and variations in local operating requirements.. This paper will outline a range of operating modes that could be important in determining the value of power plants with CO 2 capture from various stakeholder perspectives. Different quantitative techniques that could provide useful insights into plant value with flexible operation are discussed and some preliminary baseline results from a deterministic simulation are reported.