Modeling water use demands for thermoelectric power plants with CCS in selected Brazilian water basins

Abstract This article analyses the increase in water withdrawal due to the implementation of carbon capture by chemical absorption, with the use of monoethanolamines (MEA), in coal-fired thermal power plants installed or planned to operate in Brazil. Due to the installation of an amine-based carbon capture system, results indicate that water withdrawal increases, respectively, by 102–121% and by 93–113% in thermal power plants equipped with once-trough cooling and closed cooling systems. Therefore, if thermal power plants are installed in hydrographic regions where water levels are critical, the lack of available water may limit the implementation of CO 2 capture. The analyses show that the thermal power plants in the Candiota and Porto de Pecem regions are the most vulnerable from the viewpoint of water stress. Our findings emphasize the importance of considering water availability in deciding the places where future coal-fired power plants will be installed, especially if the objective is to build capture-ready thermal power plants.

[1]  Edward S. Rubin,et al.  Development and Application of Optimal Design Capability for Coal Gasification Systems , 2007 .

[2]  Stefan Vögele,et al.  Dynamic modelling of water demand, water availability and adaptation strategies for power plants to global change , 2009 .

[3]  Can Wang,et al.  Trend of technology innovation in China's coal-fired electricity industry under resource and environmental constraints , 2011 .

[4]  N. Arnell.  Climate change and global water resources , 1999 .

[5]  Varun Rai,et al.  The role of carbon capture technologies in greenhouse gas emissions-reduction models: A parametric study for the U.S. power sector , 2010 .

[6]  Luo Zhongyang,et al.  Near zero emissions coal: A China–UK initiative to develop CCS in China , 2009 .

[7]  R. Schaeffer,et al.  Energy sector vulnerability to climate change: A review , 2012 .

[8]  Christoph W. Frei,et al.  Water: A key resource in energy production , 2009 .

[9]  Abass A. Olajire,et al.  CO2 capture and separation technologies for end-of-pipe applications – A review , 2010 .

[10]  Pei Liu,et al.  A Supply Chain Based Assessment of Water Issues in the Coal Industry in China , 2012 .

[11]  J T McMullan,et al.  Clean coal technologies , 1997 .

[12]  James T. Murphy,et al.  Capturing Carbon from Existing Coal-Fired Power Plants , 2009 .

[13]  C. Vörösmarty,et al.  Global water resources: vulnerability from climate change and population growth. , 2000, Science.

[14]  B. M. D. C. E. Tecnologia.  Inventário de emissões e remoções antrópicas de gases de efeito estufa não controlados pelo Protocolo de Montreal: comunicação inicial do Brasil , 2010 .

[15]  Paul Feron,et al.  Exploring the potential for improvement of the energy performance of coal fired power plants with post-combustion capture of carbon dioxide , 2010 .

[16]  John C. Eslick,et al.  A multi-objective analysis for the retrofit of a pulverized coal power plant with a CO2 capture and compression process , 2011, Comput. Chem. Eng..

[17]  R. Dahl,et al.  Green Washing , 2010, Environmental health perspectives.

[18]  Christoph Schillings,et al.  Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment (SWERA) , 2004 .

[19]  Johannes Ewers,et al.  RWE’s 450 MW IGCC/CCS project—Status and outlook , 2009 .

[20]  Agência Nacional de Águas.  Conjuntura dos recursos hídricos no Brasil: informe 2012 , 2012 .

[21]  Brasil. Ministério do Meio Ambiente.  Plano Nacional de Recursos Hídricos , 2006 .

[22]  Frank R. Rijsberman,et al.  Water scarcity: Fact or fiction? , 2006 .

[23]  Timothy J. Skone,et al.  Water: A critical resource in the thermoelectric power industry , 2008 .

[24]  Michael E. Webber,et al.  Energy-Water Nexus in Texas , 2009 .

[25]  Alessandro Franco,et al.  The future challenges for “clean coal technologies”: Joining efficiency increase and pollutant emission control , 2009 .

[26]  Suzanne A Pierce,et al.  The energy challenge , 2008, Nature.

[27]  Alexandre Szklo,et al.  The vulnerability of renewable energy to climate change in Brazil , 2009 .

[28]  Johan Lilliestam,et al.  Modeling thermoelectric power generation in view of climate change , 2010 .

[29]  Munish K. Chandel,et al.  The potential impacts of climate-change policy on freshwater use in thermoelectric power generation , 2011 .

[30]  Alexandre Szklo,et al.  An evaluation of the techno-economic potential of co-firing coal with woody biomass in thermal power plants in the south of Brazil , 2012 .

[31]  E. Rubin,et al.  Water use at pulverized coal power plants with postcombustion carbon capture and storage. , 2011, Environmental science & technology.

[32]  Joseph Alcamo,et al.  Critical regions: A model-based estimation of world water resources sensitive to global changes , 2002, Aquatic Sciences.