Exergetic and exergoeconomic analysis of post-combustion CO2 capture using MEA-solvent chemical absorption

A comprehensive flowsheet model has been built for an MEA-solvent chemical absorption, using ASPEN PlusTM Version 8.6 for a coal-fired power plant with a capture rate of 90%. Results have shown the highest irreversibilities to occur in the units related to the chemical capture of CO2 (77% of total losses) and in the CO2 pipeline compressor (9% of total losses). An improvement in the design of the plant reduces the unit cost of carbon capture from 35.0 US$/tonCO2 in the baseline case to of 31.8 US$/tonCO2.