Life cycle cost of coke dry quenching waste heat recovery-mediated power generation

Abstract

Coke dry quenching (CDQ) can not only improve the quality of coke, but also use waste heat to generate electricity, thus exhibiting the characteristics of good energy-saving and consumption reduction. This study refers to typical cases in China, which involve the comparison of the comprehensive cost of CDQ waste heat recovery-mediated power generation with that of coke wet quenching (CWQ), considering both the economic and environmental costs based on the whole life cycle method. Moreover, a better value of scale of CDQ processing capability is discussed, and sensitivity analysis is carried out. The results show that: (1) Compared with CWQ, CDQ is an innovative and low-carbon pathway for energy production; however, considerable efforts remain to be made to reduce its cost. (2) Under the condition that the unit prices of electricity and coke were 0.509 yuan/kWh and 1400 yuan/ton, respectively, the LCOE and NPV values obtained at the scale of CDQ processing capacity of 190 t/h are better than those at other scales. (3) The change of the number of generating hours exhibited the greatest impact on the net present value of CDQ, followed by operational cost, annual CDQ amount, investment cost, environmental cost, and financial risk of construction.