Clarissa S.K. Belloni

Thermoeconomic Evaluation of CO2 Compression Strategies for Post-Combustion CO2 Capture Applications

CO2 compression significantly contributes to the overall efficiency penalty and capital cost increase resulting from CO2 capture. Performance improvement measures for this process step hence have the potential of considerably improving the overall economic picture for CO2 -lean power generation from fossil fuels. The present paper gives an insight into the thermodynamics of CO2 compression in a natural gas combined cycle power plant with post-combustion CO2 capture. The work aims at gaining a better understanding of the boundary conditions, thermodynamic limitations, and performance entitlement governing the CO2 compression process. With the help of process simulation, different technically feasible strategies for compressing CO2 are evaluated, quantified, and compared against their thermodynamic entitlement; the compression power reduction and the maximum cost allowable for the performance improvement measures suggested are estimated.Copyright

System Analysis of Waste Heat Applications With LNG Regasification

The combination of the continuously growing demand of energy in the world, the depletion of oil and its sharp price increase, as well as the urgent need for cleaner and more efficient fuels have boosted the global trade of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Nowadays, there is an increasing interest on the design philosophy of the LNG receiving terminals, due to the fact that the existing technologies either use seawater as heating source or burn part of the fuel for regasifying LNG, thus wasting the cryogenic energy of LNG and causing air pollution or harm to marine life. This investigation addresses the task of developing novel systems able to simultaneously regasify LNG and generate electric power in the most efficient and environmentally friendly way. Existing and proposed technologies for integrated LNG regasification and power generation were identified and simple, efficient, safe and compact alternatives were selected for further analysis. A baseline scenario for integrated LNG regasification and power generation was established and simulated. Various novel configurations using Rankine and Brayton cycles were created, modeled and compared to the baseline scenario in terms of LNG regasification rate, efficiency and power output. A study case with a simple and compact design was selected, preliminarily designed and analyzed. The performance and design characteristics of the study case were then compared to the baseline case. The results show that the study case results in a smaller footprint of the plant, at the same time offering a simple design solution though with lower efficiencies.Copyright