Modeling and Simulation of a Natural Gas and Alternative Fuels Combined Cycle Power Plant with Amine-Based CO2 capture in Peru

Resumen

This study evaluates alternative scenarios for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the Ventanilla thermoelectric power plant in Lima, Peru, using the process simulation software ProMax 6.0. The scenarios involve blending hydrogen (0% and 15%) with natural gas (NG) as fuel and implementing CO₂ capture systems using monoethanolamine (MEA), 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP), and amine blends such as MEA/piperazine (PZ), MEA/methyldiethanolamine (MDEA), and MDEA/PZ. Additionally, an economic analysis was conducted to assess the profitability of the process, considering carbon taxes from Argentina ($3.33 per ton CO₂), Chile ($5 per ton CO₂), and Peru ($5, $10, or $20 per ton CO₂ depending on the total emissions). The study aimed to achieve CO₂ capture with a purity equal or higher than 99.8% to evaluate its commercialization potential. Among the alternative studied scenarios, the MDEA (40%) and PZ (10%) blend with 100% NG as fuel exhibited the best net profit margin of 43.91%, achieving 426.49 MW of net power generation and CO₂ emissions of 101.28 kgCO₂/GJ. Moreover, vent gas with 99.8% CO₂ purity was obtained.