System-level feasibility analysis of a novel chemical looping combustion integrated with electrochemical CO2 reduction

The increase in greenhouse gas emissions and the subsequent global warming effects necessitate effective carbon dioxide (CO2) mitigation strategies such as CO2 capture and CO2 utilization. Chemical Looping Combustion (CLC) is a promising technology that offers a low-cost and effective CO2 capture while also generating power. With an increase in attention towards utilization of captured CO2, this paper presents a novel polygeneration process integrating CLC with electrochemical CO2 conversion for simultaneous power generation and production of valuable chemicals. This integration leverages the inherent CO2 capture capability of CLC, providing low-cost capture while enabling the valorization of captured CO2 into ethylene. A detailed techno-economic feasibility of this approach has been analyzed based on experimental data that has been utilized to develop a grey-box model for electrolysis. The overall process has been simulated using Aspen Plus along with the conventional process that generate power using conventional coal fired boilers coupled with amine-based CO2 capture followed by valorization of CO2 via similar electro-reduction unit as that in proposed process, thus presenting a relative analysis between the conventional CCUS and proposed CLC-based CCUS approaches. The performance indicators have been defined that exhibit a trade-off between the CO2 valorization and power generation while yielding efficiencies of proposed process 9.16 % points higher than the conventional variant. Furthermore, the polygeneration process demonstrated a feasible CO2¬ valorization up to 15% while compromising the power generation. The economic assessments indicate a 21.6 % reduction in the total annualized investment relative to the conventional process.