Techno-Economic Analysis of CO2 Capture from Pulp and Paper Mill Limekiln

Abstract

This paper presents a techno-economic analysis of an absorption-based CO2 capture process using Monoethanolamine (MEA) as the solvent for pulp and paper mill limekiln. The flue gas specifications were obtained from published limekiln data of a theoretical pulp and paper mill. The process was simulated in Aspen Plus and linked to CAPCOST using a python script for the cost calculations. The CO2 capture cost estimates were compared to the only CO2 capture costs data available in the literature for limekiln flue gas. Comparing the cost breakdown between the published data and this study, the capital cost difference was found to be highest for the stripper and the compression and dehydration sections. Further, the capture cost sensitivity analysis, evaluating the impacts of key parameters, including flue gas CO2 mol%, MEA, electricity, and steam, showed that the capture costs varied from $70 to $82 per tonne of CO2 captured.