Natural gas power plants are widely used because of their high efficiency. Many of these plants use combined cycle systems to improve performance. As environmental regulations become stricter, operators are exploring carbon capture systems to reduce emissions. However, these systems require significant amounts of energy. This increases fuel consumption and reduces the net power output. It also raises the cost of electricity. Post-combustion carbon capture using Monoethanolamine is the most common approach. The process captures carbon dioxide from flue gas and regenerates the solvent by applying heat. This regeneration step consumes low-pressure steam from the power plant. It reduces the power available for sale and increases the cost per unit of electricity. To address this issue, the current study evaluates different strategies to reduce energy loss. These include the use of an advanced solvent system with lower heat requirements. The design also includes vapor recompression to recover energy. In addition, solar power and grid-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are added to support the plant during high-demand hours. This combination helps reduce the impact of the carbon capture system on overall performance. The comparison focuses on quantifying net energy savings and economic benefits achieved through system enhancements. The aim is to identify configurations that maintain steady power output while minimizing capture-related penalties
Khan et al. (Mon,) studied this question.