Optimization and Scheduling of a Hybrid Energy-Powered Carbon Capture Plant

Abstract

There is an increasing need to reduce the environmental impact from fossil fuel energy-generating sources. Carbon capture is a potential pathway for reducing CO2 emissions from stationary sources. Carbon capture is an energy-intensive process and can result in a significantly lower net energy output from a fossil-fuel based power plant to address the energy intensive carbon capture process, renewable energy sources can be integrated with a fossil fuel power plant. The integration with renewable energy not only reduces the environmental impact associated with fossil fuels, but it also allows variability in the supply of renewable energy sources. Flexible carbon capture enables the capture plants to be run independently, and introduces ancillary facilities like tanks and venting. This flexibility in the operation can be increased by the incorporation of renewable energy which allows the power plants to treat the flue gas when the prices of electricity is low. This work aims to develop a scheduling profile for flexible carbon capture in an integrated power generation pathway that includes both fossil fuels, renewable energy resource availability and the spot price of electricity.