Dynamic simulation of post-combustion CO₂ capture for flexible operation of the Brindisi pilot plant

Dynamic modeling of post-combustion CO₂ capture has gained increasing attention the recent years. One of the main motivations behind this drive is the current limited knowledge of the operational flexibility of carbon capture units integrated with power stations. The present work presents an evaluation of various flexible operating modes through dynamic simulations of the Brindisi CO₂ capture pilot plant using the K-Spice® general simulation tool. The evaluated modes are; load following, exhaust gas venting, varying solvent regeneration and solvent storage. Solvent storage gives a large potential for flexible operation with the possibility of maintaining 90% instantaneous CO₂ capture rate over the whole 24 h simulated period. Two large solvent storage tanks are however required as part of the process configuration in order to realize flexible operation by solvent storage. Exhaust gas venting and varying solvent regeneration does not require any additional process installations or modification, but their potential is limited by the maximum CO₂ capture capacity during off-peak electricity price periods in order to reach a time average CO₂ capture rate of 90%. Exhaust gas venting seems to be the favorable option of the latter two.