Study of post-combustion Carbon Dioxide capture for coal-fired plant through modelling and simulation

Fossil-fuel power plants are the largest single source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Post-combustion capture through monoethanolamine-based absorption is viewed as the most mature technology proposed for mitigating CO2 emissions from such power plants. Despite its advantages, several design and operational challenges arise in the application of this technology. The amount of flue gas to process is much greater than current applications. As a consequence, there will be a large thermal energy requirement for solvent regeneration. There are also concerns about how post-combustion CO2 capture would affect the flexibility and operability of coal-fired power plants. Though expensive pilot plant studies exist worldwide, they are still on a much smaller scale than what would be required commercially. This thesis provides useful insights for the design and operation of pilot and commercial plants through modelling and simulation. Cont/d.