This paper proposes an AI-assisted approach aimed at accelerating chemical process design through causal incremental reinforcement learning (CIRL) where an intelligent agent is interacting iteratively with a process simulation environment (e.g., Aspen HYSYS, DWSIM, etc.). The proposed approach is based on an incremental learnable optimizer capable of guiding multi-objective optimization towards optimal design variable configurations, depending on several factors including the problem complexity, selected RL algorithm and hyperparameters tuning. One advantage of this approach is that the agent-simulator interaction significantly reduces the vast search space of design variables, leading to an accelerated and optimized design process. This is a generic causal approach that enables the exploration of new process configurations and provides actionable insights to designers to improve not only the process design but also the design process across various applications. The approach was valid... [more]

Developing methods for rapid, large-scale deployment of carbon capture systems is critical for meeting climate change goals. Optimization-based decisions can be employed at the design and manufacturing phases to minimize the costs of deployment and operation. Manufacturing standardization results in significant cost savings due to economies of numbers. Building on previous work, we present a process family design approach to design a set of carbon capture systems while explicitly including economies of numbers savings within the formulation. Our formulation optimizes both the number and characteristics of the common components in the platform and simultaneously designs the resulting set of carbon capture systems. Savings from economies of numbers are explicitly included in the formulation to determine the number of components in the platform. We show and discuss the savings we gain from economies of numbers.

This paper discusses the symbiotic relationship between technology research and development (R&D) and energy transition modeling. On the one hand, energy system modeling has a noteworthy history of providing macroscopic views and critical insights concerning the role that myriad technologies may play in the future energy system. On the other hand, R&D can lead to both incremental and disruptive technological advances that can shape energy transition planning. In this work, we focus on the bidirectional flow of information between the two with a particular focus on highlighting the potential role of carbon capture, storage, and sequestration technology.

A combined approach of Latin hypercube sampling and K-means clustering is proposed in this study to address the uncertainty issue in wind and solar power output. Furthermore, the loads are categorized into three levels: primary load, secondary load, and tertiary load, each with distinct characteristics in terms of demand. Additionally, a load demand response characteristic model is developed by incorporating the dissatisfaction coefficient of electric and thermal loads, which is then integrated into the system’s operational costs. Moreover, an electricity−hydrogen−thermal power system is introduced, and a source-load coordination response mechanism is proposed based on the different levels of demand response characteristics. This mechanism enhances the interaction capability between the power sources and loads, thereby further improving the economic performance of the virtual power plant. Furthermore, the operation economy of the virtual power plant is enhanced by considering the parti... [more]

In the realm of Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) power plants, it is crucial to prioritize the mitigation of CO2 emissions to ensure environmental sustainability. The integration of post-combustion carbon capture technologies plays a pivotal role in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions enhancing the NGCC’s environmental profile by minimizing its carbon footprint. This research paper presents a comprehensive investigation into the integration of solar thermal energy into the Besmaya Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) power plant, located in Baghdad, Iraq. Leveraging advanced process simulation and modeling techniques employing Aspen Plus software, the study aims to evaluate the performance and feasibility of augmenting the existing NGCC facility with solar assistance for post-carbon capture. The primary objective of this research is to conduct a thorough simulation of the Besmaya NGCC power plant under its current operational conditions, thereby establishing a baseline for subsequent ana... [more]

Carbonic anhydrase (CA)-based biological CO2 capture is emerging as a prominent carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. We developed a tagged CA−Ferritin chimera, resulting in a high-purity, high-activity, micrometer-sized CA aggregate, SazF, with a yield of 576.6 mg/L (protein/medium). SazF has an optimum temperature of 50 °C and demonstrates thermal stability between 40 and 60 °C. It operates efficiently in Tris−HCl buffer (pH = 8−9), making it compatible with ship exhaust conditions. For enhanced stability and reusability, SazF was encapsulated in SiO2 and integrated into an epoxy resin to produce a corrosion-active coating. This coating, applied to foam metal fillers, showed less than 3% protein leakage after ten days and retained over 70% activity after a month at 60 °C. This simple preparation method and the cost-effective production of these biomaterials that can continuously and efficiently absorb CO2 in high-temperature environments are suitable for most CO2 capture devic... [more]

Large-scale deployment of CO2 capture, transport, and storage (CCTS) requires the rolling-out of extensive value chains. In this study, we present the development, design, techno-economic, environmental, and regulatory analysis of four pioneering chains that capture and condition CO2 from existing European industrial plants and their multi-modal transport to selected ports in Northern Europe. The pioneering chains can avoid between 65% and 87% of the industrial emissions, including scope 3, with a cost of CO2 avoided ranging between 100 and 300 euro/tCO2. The economic and environmental performance of the CCTS chains are substantially affected by the geographic location of the industrial emitters and the CO2 volumes to be transported. The analysis relies on the assumption that the four industrial plants would be early movers. While, in the future, technology maturation and infrastructure development are expected to reduce costs and emissions associated with the CCTS chain, this study q... [more]

This paper proposes an AI-assisted approach aimed at accelerating chemical process design through causal incremental reinforcement learning (CIRL) where an intelligent agent is interacting iteratively with a process simulation environment (e.g., Aspen HYSYS, DWSIM, etc.). The proposed approach is based on an incremental learnable optimizer capable of guiding multi-objective optimization towards optimal design variable configurations, depending on several factors including the problem complexity, selected RL algorithm and hyperparameters tuning. One advantage of this approach is that the agent-simulator interaction significantly reduces the vast search space of design variables, leading to an accelerated and optimized design process. This is a generic causal approach that enables the exploration of new process configurations and provides actionable insights to designers to improve not only the process design but also the design process across various applications. The approach was valid... [more]

International shipping is crucial for global freight transport, but is mainly based on fossil fuels, leading to significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Global GHG emissions must peak by 2025 and drop by at least 43% by 2030 to limit global warming within 1.5◦C. This calls for urgent action in all sectors as well as shipping. Scaling up alternative fuels may take too long, considering technical modifications onboard the vessels, as well as fuel production and infrastructure for distribution. Many alternative fuels are also inherently dependent on access to clean electricity, which is already in a shortage. Carbon capture from ships is another route to emission reduction that can be implemented faster and without increasing the demand for renewable electricity.
Tankers, dry bulk carriers, and container vessels contribute a majority of global shipping emissions and are therefore prime candidates for carbon capture and storage. Solvent-based post-combustion capture is mature and suita... [more]

Global warming might be mitigated if emissions were interrupted through carbon capture technologies, as there is a significant amount of comprehensive studies on them. An outline of the main gaps and trends of a technology is critical for further development. In this context, this study provides an overview of calcium looping carbon capture processes that have proven their potential and commercial viability. A bibliometric analysis is conducted on both Scopus and Web of Science database by seeking the keywords “calcium looping”, “co2 capture”, and “fluidized bed” in titles, abstracts, and keywords. Word selection was based on a list of relevant papers on the topic. These items of data have been processed and analyzed based on the number of publications and citations by emphasizing recent publication evolution, journal influence, the use of specific keywords, and co-citation. Results reveal that the European Union (EU) leads the rankings on the topic, followed by Canada. Keyword choice... [more]

The amount of CO2 released in the atmosphere has been at a continuous surge in the last decade, and in order to protect the environment from global warming, it is necessary to employ techniques like carbon capture. Developing technologies like Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage aims at mitigating the CO2 content from the air we breathe and has garnered immense research attention. In this review, the authors have aimed to discuss the various technologies that are being used to capture the CO2 from the atmosphere, store it and further utilize it. For utilization, researchers have developed alternatives to make profits from CO2 by converting it into an asset. The development of newer fuel cells that consume CO2 in exchange for electrical power to drive the industries and produce valuable hydrocarbons in the form of fuel has paved the path for more research in the field of carbon utilization. The primary focus on the article is to inspect the environmental and economic feasibility of n... [more]

The pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process was used to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the flue gas of a coal-fired power plant to reduce CO2 emissions. Herein, CO2 was captured from flue gas using the PSA process for at least 85 vol% CO2 purity and with the other exit stream from the process of more than 90 vol% N2 purity. The extended Langmuir−Freundlich isotherm was used for calculating the equilibrium adsorption capacity, and the linear driving force model was used to describe the gas adsorption kinetics. We compared the results of breakthrough curves obtained through experiments and simulations to verify the accuracy of the mass transfer coefficient. The flue gas obtained after desulphurization and water removal (13.5 vol% CO2 and 86.5 vol% N2) from a subcritical 1-kW coal-fired power plant served as the feed for the designed three-bed, nine-step PSA process. To determine optimal operating conditions for the process, the central composite design (CCD) was used. After CCD analys... [more]

There is a groundswell of interest in applying phototrophic microorganisms, specifically microalgae and cyanobacteria, for biotechnology and ecosystem service applications. However, there are inherent challenges associated with conventional routes to their deployment (using ponds, raceways and photobioreactors) which are synonymous with suspension cultivation techniques. Cultivation as biofilms partly ameliorates these issues; however, based on the principles of process intensification, by taking a step beyond biofilms and exploiting nature inspired artificial cell immobilisation, new opportunities become available, particularly for applications requiring extensive deployment periods (e.g., carbon capture and wastewater bioremediation). We explore the rationale for, and approaches to immobilised cultivation, in particular the application of latex-based polymer immobilisation as living biocomposites. We discuss how biocomposites can be optimised at the design stage based on mass transfe... [more]

Energy access and waste management are two of the most pressing developmental and environmental issues on a global level to help mitigate the accelerating impacts of climate change. They are particularly relevant in Sub−Saharan Africa where electrification rates are significantly below global averages and rural areas are lacking a formal waste management sector. This paper explores the potential of integrating solar energy into a biomass pyrolysis unit as a potentially synergetic solution to both issues. The full design of a slow pyrolysis batch reactor targeted at biochar production, following a strict cost minimization approach, is presented in light of the relevant considerations. SPEAR is powered using a Cassegrain optics parabolic dish system, integrated into the reactor via a manual tracking system and optically optimized with a Monte-Carlo ray tracing methodology. The design approach employed has led to the development an overall cost efficient system, with the potential to achi... [more]

The fluidized bed combustion (FBC) of biomass and solid recovered fuel (SRF) is globally emerging as a viable solution to achieve net-negative carbon emissions in the heat and power sector. Contrary to conventional fossil fuels, alternative fuels are highly heterogeneous, and usually contain increased amounts of alkaline metals and chlorine. Hence, experimental studies are mandatory in order to thoroughly characterize the combustion behavior and pollutant formation of non-conventional fuels in novel applications. This work gives an overview of experimental investigations on the oxy-fuel combustion of hard coal, wheat straw, and SRF with a limestone bed in a semi-industrial circulating fluidized bed (CFB) pilot plant. The CFB combustor was able to be operated under different fuel blending ratios and inlet O2 concentrations, showing a stable hydrodynamic behavior over many hours of continuous operation. The boundary conditions introduced in this study are expected to prevail in carbon ca... [more]

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a technology for mitigating emissions from large point-source industries. In addition to the primary role of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, CCS forms the basis for two large-scale negative emissions technologies by coupling geologic CO2 storage with bioenergy (BECCS) and direct air carbon capture (DACCS). Despite its inclusion within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), CCS has been largely unsupported by UNFCCC delegates because of its association with fossil fuels. We evaluate data from surveys given since 2015 to UNFCCC delegates at the Conference of the Parties (COPs) to ascertain how attitudes about bioenergy, BECCS, and CCS may be changing within the UNFCCC. The results show a positive change in attitudes over time for both fossil CCS and BECCS. Using a unique data analysis method, we ascertain that, in some instances, popularity of BECCS increased due to an increased acceptance of CCS despite lo... [more]

Global warming is an existential threat to humanity and the rapid energy transition, which is required, will be the defining social, political and technical challenge of the 21st century. Practical experience and research results of recent years have showed that our actions to cover the gap between real situation and aims of climate agreements are not enough and that improvements in climate policy are needed, primarily in the energy sector. It is becoming increasingly clear that hydrocarbon resources, which production volume is increasing annually, will remain a significant part of the global fuel balance in the foreseeable future. Taking this into account, the main problem of the current climate policy is a limited portfolio of technologies, focused on replacement of hydrocarbon resources with renewable energy, without proper attention to an alternative ways of decreasing carbon intensity, such as carbon sequestration options. This study shows the need to review the existing climate p... [more]

The research aims to assess the relationship between fiscal decentralization and climate change mitigation to warrant the direction for the carbon-capturing systems of China. The study estimated the results of China and applied unit root test, cointegration analysis, CS-ARDL test, and robustness analysis. The survey results highlighted a significant relationship between the fiscal decentralization index and climate change mitigation. More specifically, the budgetary decentralization index’s economic, governmental, and institutional factors play a substantial role in climate change mitigation in the short run. While governmental factors are found insignificant asein the long run, economic, institutional, and cultural factors revealed a significant connection in the Chinese setting. The results of the study are robust in both long-run and short-run perspectives. The study also presented prudential guidelines for using fiscal decentralization as an environmental tool for climate change mi... [more]

We examined the cost implications of selecting six different types of heat exchangers as the lean/rich heat exchanger in an amine-based CO2 capture process. The difference in total capital cost between different capture plant scenarios due to the different costs of the heat exchangers used as the lean/rich heat exchanger, in each case, is in millions of Euros. The gasketed-plate heat exchanger (G-PHE) saves significant space, and it saves considerable costs. Selecting the G-PHE instead of the shell and tube heat exchangers (STHXs) will save €33 million−€39 million in total capital cost (CAPEX), depending on the type of STHX. About €43 million and €2 million in total installed costs (CAPEX) can be saved if the G-PHE is selected instead of the finned double-pipe heat exchanger (FDP-HX) or welded-plate heat exchanger, respectively. The savings in total annual cost is also in millions of Euros/year. Capture costs of €5/tCO2−€6/tCO2 can be saved by replacing conventional STHXs with the G-PH... [more]

Based on the structural theory of thermo-economics, a 600 MW unit was taken as an example. An integration system which uses fuel gas heat and solar energy as a heat source for post-combustion carbon capture was proposed. The physical structure sketch and productive structure sketch were drawn and a thermo-economics model and cost model based on the definition of fuel-product were established. The production relation between units was analyzed, and the composition and distribution of the exergy cost and thermo-economic cost of each unit were studied. Additionally, the influence of the fuel price and equipment investment cost of the thermo-economic cost for each product was studied. The results showed that the main factors affecting the unit cost are the fuel exergy cost, component exergy efficiency, and irreversible exergy cost of each unit, and the main factors affecting the thermo-economics cost are the specific irreversible exergy cost and investment exergy cost. The main factors aff... [more]

Steel slag CO2 sequestration helps mitigate global warming and decrease the stockpile of steel slag (SS). Through orthogonal design tests and single-factor tests, this paper evaluated the effects of the water/solid mass ratio (w/s), gypsum ratio (G/SS), molding pressure, and curing duration on uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and CO2 uptake of the compacts. The results indicated that high w/s enhanced both strength and CO2 capture ability. The proper addition of gypsum helps promote UCS increase and CO2 uptake of steel slag. In addition, increasing the molding pressure can significantly improve UCS without reducing CO2 uptake. The optimum conditions in the study were a w/s of 0.20, G/SS of 1/16, and molding pressure of 27 MPa, under which conditions 1 d UCS and CO2 uptake were 55.30 MPa and 12.36%, respectively. Microanalyses showed that gypsum activates mainly mayenite in steel slag. An increase in water addition also increased the hydration and carbonation products greatly, and th... [more]

The thermodynamic cycle, as a significant tool derived from equilibrium, could provide a reasonable and rapid energy profile of complicated energy systems. Such a function could strongly promote an in-depth and direct understanding of the energy conversion mechanism of cutting-edge industrial systems, e.g., carbon capture system (CCS) However, such applications of thermodynamics theory have not been widely accepted in the carbon capture sector, which may be one of the reasons why intensive energy consumption still obstructs large-scale commercialization of CCS. In this paper, a kind of thermodynamic cycle was developed as a tool to estimate the lowest regeneration heat (Qre) of a benchmark solvent (MEA) under typical conditions. Moreover, COPCO2, a new assessment indicator, was proposed firstly for energy-efficiency performance analysis of such a kind of CCS system. In addition to regeneration heat and second-law efficiency (η2nd), the developed COPCO2 was also integrated into the exis... [more]

The share of global CO2 emissions deriving from the cement industry is about 5%. More than 50% of these are process-related and cannot be avoided. This paper addresses the application of CO2 capture technology to the cement industry. Analyses focusing on post-combustion technology for cement plants are carried out on the basis of detailed model calculations. Different heat supply variants for the regeneration of loaded wash solution were investigated. CO2 avoidance costs are in a range of 77 to 115 EUR/tCO2. The achievable CO2 avoidance rate for the investigated cases was determined to be 70% to 90%. CO2 reduction potentials were identified using CCS technology, focusing on the German cement industry as a case study. The results show that adopting carbon capture technology could lead to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions.

Moving bed heat exchangers (MBHE)s are used in industrial applications including waste heat recovery and the drying of solids. As a result, energy balance models have been developed to simulate the heat transfer between a moving bed and the gas phase. Within these energy balance models, phase change of components within the gas phase has not been considered as the liquefaction or desublimation of the gas phase does not occur in typical industrial applications. However, available energy balance models for cryogenic CO2 capture (CCC) have only focused on fixed packed beds. The development of a suitable energy balance model to predict the energy duties for MBHEs that include phase change would be beneficial for CCC applications. This work investigated the development of moving bed energy balance models for the design of moving bed columns that involve phase change of CO2 into frost, using existing models for MBHEs and fixed-bed CCC capture. The models were evaluated by comparison with ava... [more]

Carbon dioxide capture from cement plant flue gas can play an important role in mitigating CO2 emission that lead to climate change. Among all the technologies evaluated, membranes have potential to be one of the most energy-efficient and low-cost CO2 capture option. In this work, a novel membrane technology, Facilitated Transport Membranes (FTMs), is assessed to further reduce energy demand and cost for CO2 capture in a cement plant. A new process that employs FTMs is simulated and applied to a real clinker production plant in Italy (Colacem, Gubbio). The process is then compared with other carbon capture technologies. Results show that the FTM technology can be competitive with other technologies despite the need of steam to operate the membrane. Despite the benefit in terms of specific emission compared to more established absorption with liquid amines process, further improvements on membrane performances are needed to gain also an economic advantage for carbon capture in the cemen... [more]