Optimization of the design, operating conditions, and coupling configuration of combined cycle power plants and CO2 capture processes by minimizing the mitigation cost

Abstract This paper deals with the optimization of the coupling between a natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) plant and a post-combustion CO 2 capture process by minimizing the mitigation cost – defined as the ratio between the cost of electric power generation and the amount of CO 2 emitted per unit of total net electric power generated – while satisfying the design specifications: electric power generation capacity and CO 2  capture level. Three candidate coupling configurations, which differ in the place where the steam is extracted from, are optimized using detailed and rigorous models for both the NGCC and the CO 2 capture plants. By comparing the mitigation cost of each configuration, the optimal integration configuration and the corresponding optimal sizes and operating conditions of all process units (steam turbines, gas turbines, heat recovery steam generators HRSGs, absorption and regeneration columns, reboilers and condensers, and pumps) are provided. In the computed optimal solution, the steam required by the CO 2 capture plant is extracted from both the steam turbine and the HRSG (evaporator operating at low pressure), and the mitigation cost is 90.88 $/t CO 2 . The optimal solution is compared with suboptimal solutions corresponding to the other two candidate coupling schemes. These solutions are compared in detail regarding capital investment and operating costs, HRSG configuration, process unit sizes, and operating conditions.