Integrated Techno-economic and Environmental Assessment of an Amine-based Capture

A systematic methodology for integrated techno-economic and environmental assessment of CCS value chains is presented and applied to assess the impact of the CO₂ concentration on an amine-based post-combustion CO₂ capture process. In this methodology, the technical assessment, economic evaluation, and environmental assessment (focusing on the global warming effect) are integrated in order to avoid the unilateral understandings obtained when these assessments are performed separately. Seven cases with CO₂ concentrations between 2.5 and 20.5% (mol) are investigated in terms of energy consumptions, the overall costs, as well as the climate impact of the capture process. The process simulation is performed with Aspen Plus®, and the techno-economic evaluation using Aspen Process Economic Analyzer®. A hybrid life cycle assessment approach is used to estimate the climate impact of the capture based on the results of techno-economic assessment. The CO₂ avoided capture cost, which reflects both the techno- economic and environmental performances, is used to assess the comprehensive impact of the CO₂ concentration on the capture process.