Techno-economics of CO2-Argon-Steam Oxy-Fuel (CARSOXY) Gas Turbines

Abstract

Due to strict emission control regulations on gas turbines, power generation industries are liable for maintaining CO2 and NOx emission levels within allowable tolerance margins. CARSOXY gas turbines eliminate NOx emissions by replacing Air/fuel combustion with CO2-Argon-Steam/oxyfuel combustion. In addition, CARSOXY gas turbines control carbon emissions by Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) techniques. CARSOXY gas turbines have demonstrated an increase in efficiency by 13.93%. This paper performs comparable techno-economic analyses between CARSOXY and Air-driven gas turbine cycles using the same amount of CH4 fuel. Both cycles have been modeled and economically analyzed using ASPEN PLUS. The CARSOXY cycle has demonstrated to be more economically sustainable than the Air-driven gas turbine. The Modified Internal Rate of Return (MIRR) of the CARSOXY cycle is approximately 2.2% higher than that for the Air-driven cycle. Moreover, the profitability index (PI) of the CARSOXY cycle is 1.72, while it is only 1.28 for the Air-driven cycle.