Techno-economic analysis of power and hydrogen co-production by an IGCC plant with CO2 capture based on membrane technology

The techno-economic analysis of an IGCC plant for power and hydrogen production with CO2 capture by means of Pd-based H2 membranes was carried out. The case studies were referred to the modifications of the existing 330MWe Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plant of ELCOGAS based on entrained flow gasification of a dry mixture of coal and pet-coke. The pre-combustion section consisting in a sour water gas shift reactor integrated with Pd-based H2 selective membranes and CO2 selective membranes was simulated by process simulation techniques. Heat integration of the new process section was also addressed to minimize the energy loss. Power and energy penalty were evaluated as a function of the CO2 capture percentage and of the electricity and hydrogen output. Economic assessment of the additional capital and production costs was also performed to evaluate the mitigation cost of the carbon capture and storage (CCS) based on membrane technology. Sensitivity analysis was carried out to derive the breakeven price and the threshold performance of hydrogen membranes. The results on the cost of electricity, calculated without accounting for the revenues of the hydrogen sales, provided preliminary data for the economic feasibility of H2 membranes in the IGCC process.