Optimization of intercooling compression in CO2 capture systems

Compression of CO2 is an essential process in the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. In spite of power requirements for CO2 compression could be as much as 700 kWe per tonne CO2, the minimization of energy requirements has received little attention in the literature. Although intercooling compression reduces power requirements, it introduces important cooling necessities that could be minimized. The aim of this paper is the integration of intercooling compression into the low-pressure part of a steam cycle to take advantage of the intercooling heat and analyse the energetic and economical results under different assumptions. Simulation and optimization have been performed in order to evaluate the intercooling configuration, energy requirements and the most cost-effective integration. Results have shown reduction in compression power requirement around 40% and reduction of the incremental COE around 23%. Proposed integration could be used to increase the efficiency of CO2 capture processes and, therefore, to reduce the CO2 capture cost. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.