Implementation of Chemical Looping Combustion Technology with Waste-Derived Fuels: Process Analysis and Comparison with Other Prominent CO2 Capture Technologies

Abstract

Solid wastes management constitutes an unavoidable issue in modern overconsuming societies, but apart from that, it is also an energy source. Combustion of waste, like other carbonaceous fuels, emits carbon dioxide, which needs to be mitigated in order to achieve the Paris Agreement targets, concerning the limitation of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. The CCS implementation at waste to energy (WtE) plants is an attractive strategy to achieve this. Chemical Looping Combustion (CLC) is considered as a very promising combustion for power plants to produce efficiently thermal energy, given that it includes an inherent CO2 capture, avoiding in this way the cost or energy penalties that accompany other existing CO2 capture technologies. In this study, the integrated model of a CLC unit fuelled with waste derived fuel for power production with the simultaneous CO2 capture in an effective way is presented. Several aspects that affect the overall plant efficiency such as the heat recovery configuration, the steam pressure level and the fuel type are assessed. Moreover, the CLC is benchmarked with other two competitive CO2 capture technologies, amine scrubbing and calcium looping.