Techno-economic performance of post-combustion CO2 capture and energy efficiency measures in an oil refinery

Abstract

To date, the interaction among different mitigation options at one industrial site has not been investigated in literature. There is insufficient knowledge available on the interaction between energy efficiency measures (EEMs) and post-combustion capture. Further research on these interactions is needed as they may strongly influence the techno-economic performance of EEMS and/or post-combustion capture. The objective of this study is two-fold. First, it examines the CO2 emission reduction potential and techno-economic performance of post-combustion capture and energy efficiency measures at an oil refinery. Second, this study examines under which conditions EEMs and post-combustion capture can be jointly implemented from a techno-economic and practical perspective. This is assessed by first calculating the techno-economic performances of post-combustion and energy efficiency measures separately. Then, different scenarios are assessed where these mitigation options are combined at the case refinery. These scenarios differ in implementation order (EEMs first or post-combustion capture first) and regeneration heat supply for post-combustion capture (NGCC or excess heat). For comparison, also scenarios will be assessed where practical issues and interactions between mitigation options are ignored. The results show that when EEMs and post-combustion capture are combined, a total CO2 reduction potential of 482 ktCO2 per year is achievable at the case refinery of this study. This corresponds to a reduction of 87%. This is in a scenario where EEMs are implemented first and the required heat for post-combustion capture is supplied by excess heat. From the perspective of the refinery this proved to be the preferable scenario. From a global perspective, the scenario with NGCC as heat supply proved to be preferable because of the excess electricity production that can be sold to the grid. Indirectly, the total global CO2 avoidance is then much larger. Comparing the scenarios with each other shows that implementation order influences the avoidance costs of post-combustion capture by 1-4 €/tCO2. Practical issues and interactions between mitigation options could lead to avoidance costs for post-combustion capture of up to 28 €/tCO2 higher (for a NGCC with high heat demand).