Techno-economic Evaluation of CO2 Capture from Flue Gases Using Encapsulated Solvent

Abstract

Encapsulated solvents are a solvent system for CO2 capture, where the operating solvent fluid is enclosed in a thin membrane capsule with a diameter of 100–600 μm. The encapsulation provides a significantly higher surface area compared to conventional packings, which potentially reduces the absorber dimensions. In this paper, a high-level assessment of costs for postcombustion CO2 capture using encapsulated solvent systems is carried out to identify key areas for future development. Two process configurations for an encapsulated solvent system are assessed. In the first process configuration, multiple fixed-bed columns are used as the absorber and regenerator. In the second process configuration, a circulating fluidized-bed absorber and a bubbling fluidized-bed regenerator are used. For each system, possible cost reductions through improvements in the capsule properties are investigated. Key design and operational challenges for these systems are also evaluated. The capture costs for using an encapsulated...