Ecological Evaluation of Coal-fired Oxyfuel Power Plants -cryogenic Versus Membrane-based Air Separation-

Oxyfuel combustion is a promising candidate for carbon capture. However, the high energy demand for cryogenic oxygen production is associated with a considerable loss in efficiency. A promising new development to reduce these losses is the application of high temperature ceramic membranes. This paper compares the environmental impacts of both air separation concepts in an Oxyfuel process using life cycle assessment methodology (LCA). The results are reflected to the environmental effects of conventional power generation without CCS. To consider technical innovation the concepts are modelled based on a state-of-the-art supercritical (600 °C) and on an advanced ultra-supercritical (700 °C) coal-fired power plant.