Solvent-based post-combustion CO2 capture for power plants: A critical review and perspective on dynamic modelling, system identification, process control and flexible operation

Abstract Solvent-based post-combustion CO2 capture (PCC) appears to be the most effective choice to overcome the CO2 emission issue of fossil fuel fired power plants. To make the PCC better suited for power plants, growing interest has been directed to the flexible operation of PCC in the past ten years. The flexible operation requires the PCC system to adapt to the strong flue gas flow rate change and to adjust the carbon capture level rapidly in wide operating range. In-depth study of the dynamic characteristics of the PCC process and developing a suitable control approach are the keys to meet this challenge. This paper provides a critical review for the dynamic research of the solvent–based PCC process including first-principle modelling, data-driven system/process identification and the control design studies, with their main features being listed and discussed. The existent studies have been classified according to the approaches used and their advantages and limitations have been summarized. Potential future research opportunities for the flexible operation of solvent-based PCC are also given in this review.