A hybrid process combining oxygen enriched air combustion and membrane separation for post-combustion carbon dioxide capture

Abstract For carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS), similar to a large majority of industrial processes, the separation (i.e. capture) step dominates the costs of the technological chain. Based on a concept of minimal work of concentration, the evaluation of a tentative capture framework which combines an oxygen enrichment step before combustion and a CO 2 capture step from flue gas has been investigated through a simulation study. The performances of a cryogenic oxygen production process have been used for the upstream part, while a membrane separation process based on CO 2 selective materials has been investigated for CO 2 capture. The potentialities of this hybrid process from the energy requirement point of view are discussed. It is shown that the hybrid process can lead to a 35% decrease of the energy requirement (expressed in GJ per ton of recovered CO 2 ) compared to oxycombustion, providing optimal operating conditions are chosen.

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