Semi-Closed Oxy-Combustion Combined Cycles for Combined Heat and Power Applications

Abstract This study focuses on the design and comparison of three utility-scale combined heat and power (CHP) cycles with carbon capture and storage (CCS): (i) a CHP semi-closed oxy-combustion combined cycle (SCOC-CC), (ii) a CHP natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) with postcombustion CCS, and (iii) a CHP NGCC with postcombustion CCS and supplementary firing. Performance evaluations are conducted at the design point and partial load (gas turbine at 30%) for different exports of high-temperature pressurized steam. The comparison is extended against two reference separate production systems with CCS, one based on postcombustion technologies, and another based on oxy-combustion. Simulations of the H-class gas turbines are performed using gas steam (GS), a specific in-house validated software, while the heat recovery steam cycle is modeled using Thermoflex. The CO2 capture processes employ validated models in Aspen Plus. The results highlight the suitability of the SCOC-CC for CHP applications, demonstrating superior performance and flexibility compared to CHP postcombustion technologies at both nominal and minimum loads. The SCOC cycle achieves a maximum first-law efficiency of 65.95%, outperforming CCS technologies that generate electricity and heat separately and enabling fuel savings up to 9.2%.