Techno-economic analysis of a Cryogenic Carbon Capture plant applied to cement production

The growing concern over climate change has led to increasingly stringent environmental regulations aimed at reducing CO2 emissions. Although carbon capture technologies currently focus on more established methods, cryogenic techniques offer significant advantages, including high-purity CO2 products suitable for various industrial applications, the elimination of toxic chemical solvents, and reduced energy consumption. This thesis presents a techno-economic analysis of a cryogenic carbon capture process simulated in Aspen Plus®, applied to flue gases from a cement plant, one of the largest industrial contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. CO2 is separated from the gas mixture in a desublimation column operating at atmospheric pressure and a temperature of -115 °C, achieving a CO2 capture rate of 90% with a product purity exceeding 99.99%. Following the simulation, an economic evaluation was conducted to assess both capital and operational costs. These cost assessments form the basis for estimating key performance indicators, including the Avoided CO2 index, the Cost of Avoided CO2, and the Specific Primary Energy Consumption for CO2 Avoided. The results indicate that cryogenic carbon capture is less energy-intensive than conventional methods, with an energy penalty of 1.10 MJel/kgCO2. This research underscores the potential of cryogenic technology as an advanced and economically feasible solution for CO2 capture, particularly in high-emission industries such as cement production.