Economic Comparison of Three Gas Separation Technologies for CO 2 Capture from Power Plant Flue Gas

Abstract

Three gas separation technologies, chemical absorption, membrane separation and pressure swing adsorption, are usually applied for CO 2 capture from flue gas in coal-fired power plants. In this work, the costs of the three technologies are analyzed and compared. The cost for chemical absorption is mainly from $30 to $60 per ton (based on CO 2 avoided), while the minimum value is $10 per ton (based on CO 2 avoided). As for membrane separation and pressure swing adsorption, the costs are $50 to $78 and $40 to $63 per ton (based on CO 2 avoided), respectively. Measures are proposed to reduce the cost of the three technologies. For CO 2 capture and storage process, the CO 2 recovery and purity should be greater than 90%. Based on the cost, recovery, and purity, it seems that chemical absorption is currently the most cost-effective technology for CO 2 capture from flue gas from power plants. However, membrane gas separation is the most promising alternative approach in the future, provided that membrane performance is further improved.