An Incremental, Multi-Technology Approach to Retrofitting Existing Pulverized Coal Power Plants for Carbon Capture

Global climate models indicate that acting rapidly to reduce carbon dioxide emissions will provide greater benefits to the environment than delaying action; however, new technologies, currently under development, may be significantly less costly than those currently ready to be deployed. This tradeoff between time to deployment and cost makes it difficult to determine the best course of action. This paper will explore scenarios under which partial post-combustion capture is achieved with aqueous amine absorption in the near term and additional capture capability is achieved in the future through newer technologies, such as advanced sorbents or membrane processes. Results from process simulations will be presented to demonstrate the potential for a multi-technology approach to achieve synergistic reductions in the cost of carbon capture.