Simulation of a Greenfield oxyfuel lignite-fired power plant

Abstract

Scope of the work presented in this paper is to examine a Greenfield application of the oxyfuel technology for CO 2 sequestration in a lignite-fired power plant. In a retrofit application of this technology, the existing Power Plant modifications are dominated by techno-economic restrictions regarding the boiler and the steam turbine islands. On the other hand, a Greenfield construction of such a power plant implies that measures for the exploitation of heat that would be otherwise wasted will be adopted. Heat integration from processes – such as the air separation, the CO 2 compression and purification and the flue gas treatment – can result in reduced energy and efficiency penalties. In the context of this work, heat integration options are illustrated and results from thermodynamic simulations dealing with the most important features of the power plant with CO 2 capture are presented for both retrofit and Greenfield application of the oxyfuel technology, providing a comparative view on the power plant net efficiency. The operational characteristics as well as the main figures of the plants heat balances are included.