Performance analysis of a double calcium looping-integrated biomass-fired power plant: Exploring a carbon reduction opportunity

Integrating biomass energy generation with carbon capture will result in "carbon neutral" to "carbon negative" technology. Countries like India and China possess significant reserves of limestone. Calcium looping (CaL) technology can prove to be a promising option for carbon capture in these countries. The present work aims at improving the performance of CaL-integrated biomass-fired power plant (BFPP) by exploring different looping configurations. In this study, (i) standalone BFPP, (ii) conventional CaL (single stage), and (iii) double CaL-integrated BFPP have been systematically evaluated. A comparative performance evaluation of these three plants in terms of energy, exergy and ecological assessment, has been carried out. A detailed parametric study and unit-wise exergy analysis of the best configuration among the three are presented to identify the scope for further improvement in efficiency and energy savings.