Techno-Economic Analysis of Hydrogen and Electricity Production by Biomass Calcium Looping Gasification

Abstract

Combined cycle, biomass calcium looping gasification is proposed for a hydrogen and electricity production (CLGCC–H) system. The process simulation Aspen Plus is used to conduct techno-economic analysis of the CLGCC–H system. The appropriate detailed models are set up for the proposed system. Furthermore, a dual fluidized bed is optimized for hydrogen production at 700 °C and 12 bar. For comparison, calcium looping gasification with the combined cycle for electricity (CLGCC) is selected with the same parameters. The system exergy and energy efficiency of CLGCC–H reached as high as 60.79% and 64.75%, while the CLGCC system had 51.22% and 54.19%. The IRR and payback period of the CLGCC–H system, based on economic data, are calculated as 17.43% and 7.35 years, respectively. However, the CLGCC system has an IRR of 11.45% and a payback period of 9.99 years, respectively. The results show that the calcium looping gasification-based hydrogen and electricity coproduction system has a promising market prospect in the near future.