Conference article

A standard method to remove CO2 is by absorption in monoethanol amine (MEA) followed by desorption. A traditional aim has been to find the process parameters which give the lowest combined investment and operating cost. The aim in this work is to calculate cost optimum process parameters and evaluate whether it is possible to perform automated cost estimation and optimization. Aspen HYSYS simulations of a standard amine based process for CO2 capture from a cement plant have been performed. The capital cost of CO2 capture was estimated based on equipment cost from Aspen In-plant cost estimator and a detailed factor method. Operating cost included electricity, heat consumption and maintenance. Optimum temperature difference in the main heat exchanger was calculated to 13 °C after one simulation for each temperature. The lowest calculated cost was achieved with 12 stages (meter packing height) based on one simulation for each stage number. With improved robustness of the simulations, it should be possible to optimize the temperature difference in one automated calculation. To optimize the height of the absorption column automatically, a way to update the number of stages during the simulations has to be found.

carbon capture, Aspen HYSYS, simulation, cost estimation