Options for introducing CO2 capture and capture readiness for coal fired power plants in China
Author(s)
Li, Jia
Type
Thesis
Abstract
China has been building at least 50GW of new coal‐fired power plants every year
since 2004. Previous carbon capture and storage (CCS) research has mainly focussed
on technology improvements or stakeholder opinion surveys, without picturing the
overall concerns and barriers for deploying such technology in China. This thesis
therefore explores the engineering and policy requirements to implement CCS and
CO2 Capture Ready (CCR) in Chinese coal‐fired power plants, key enablers for future
deployment. A preliminary study of the Chinese gasification industry shows there are
early opportunities to capture carbon dioxide from gasification plants. However, as
power from conventional pulverised coal (PC) accounts for the majority of electricity
generated in China, the most promising emission reduction method for China could
be through implementation of CCS technology in large PC plants.
An investigation of the current PC plant layouts and operating parameters has been
carried out during the course of the study. The results show that, in the absence of
CCR designs, a large fraction of such new coal power plants built within the next
decade could face ‘carbon lock-in’. A site specific system model using ASPEN Plus to
demonstrate the possible changes that could be applied to an existing power plant
and a retrofit plant is included in the study.
A capture ready power plant site selection method has also been developed, to
identify possible sites and to aid understanding of the criteria that should be
considered when planning a capture ready plant. A case study of a capture ready
power plant in Guangdong province, China shows the benefit of regional planning.
Finally, the result of the first stakeholder perception survey on making new coal‐fired
plants CCR, conducted in early 2010, are presented and analysed. Evidence for a
supportive attitude towards CCR could indicate that this may be a route to early
commercial demonstration of CCS in China.
since 2004. Previous carbon capture and storage (CCS) research has mainly focussed
on technology improvements or stakeholder opinion surveys, without picturing the
overall concerns and barriers for deploying such technology in China. This thesis
therefore explores the engineering and policy requirements to implement CCS and
CO2 Capture Ready (CCR) in Chinese coal‐fired power plants, key enablers for future
deployment. A preliminary study of the Chinese gasification industry shows there are
early opportunities to capture carbon dioxide from gasification plants. However, as
power from conventional pulverised coal (PC) accounts for the majority of electricity
generated in China, the most promising emission reduction method for China could
be through implementation of CCS technology in large PC plants.
An investigation of the current PC plant layouts and operating parameters has been
carried out during the course of the study. The results show that, in the absence of
CCR designs, a large fraction of such new coal power plants built within the next
decade could face ‘carbon lock-in’. A site specific system model using ASPEN Plus to
demonstrate the possible changes that could be applied to an existing power plant
and a retrofit plant is included in the study.
A capture ready power plant site selection method has also been developed, to
identify possible sites and to aid understanding of the criteria that should be
considered when planning a capture ready plant. A case study of a capture ready
power plant in Guangdong province, China shows the benefit of regional planning.
Finally, the result of the first stakeholder perception survey on making new coal‐fired
plants CCR, conducted in early 2010, are presented and analysed. Evidence for a
supportive attitude towards CCR could indicate that this may be a route to early
commercial demonstration of CCS in China.
Date Issued
2010-07
Date Awarded
2011-03
Copyright Statement
Attribution NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-ND)
Advisor
Gibbins, Jon
Cockerill, Tim
Sponsor
DTI/BERR/DECC
Creator
Li, Jia
Publisher Department
Mechanical Engineering and Centre for Environmental Policy
Publisher Institution
Imperial College London
Qualification Level
Doctoral
Qualification Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)