Biomass direct chemical looping for hydrogen and power co-production: Process configuration, simulation, thermal integration and techno-economic assessment

Abstract

Large scale biomass utilisation in energy-related applications is of paramount importance to reduce the fossil CO2 emissions. At European level, about a third of energy consumption is expected to be covered by renewables in the next 15years. In addition, the CO2 emissions need to be reduced by 40% compared to the 1990 level. Within this context, innovative energy-efficient low carbon technologies have to be developed. Chemical looping is a promising conversion option to deliver reduced energy and cost penalties for CO2 capture.This paper assesses biomass direct chemical looping (BDCL) concept for hydrogen and power co-production. The concept is illustrated using an ilmenite-based system to produce 400–500MW net power with flexible hydrogen output (up to 200MWth). The performances are assessed through computational methods, with the mass and energy balances being used for in-depth techno-economic analysis. The biomass direct chemical looping delivers both high energy efficiencies (~42% net efficiency) with almost total carbon capture rate (>99%) compared to other CO2 capture options (e.g. gas–liquid absorption). The economic parameters show also a reduced CO2 capture cost penalty for biomass direct chemical looping technology compared to gas–liquid absorption (e.g. 7% reduction of specific capital investment).