AsPyCC: Post-combustion carbon capture design through Aspen Plus® & Python

A novel AsPyCC framework is introduced to conduct techno-economic evaluations of post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) units. The framework is demonstrated across seven industrial sectors, represented with different flue gas compositions. The automated framework integrates design, sizing, and simulation of PCC units in Aspen Plus® via Python, ensuring compliance with industry standards, while reducing the design effort as compared to traditional process synthesis methods. This is possible because design heuristics were integrated in the tool, namely target loadings, capture rate, geometrical relations, flooding percentage, etc. For testing the capabilities of the tool, a total of 35 PCC units considering an ammonia-based solvent were designed targeting 90 ± 5 % CO2 capture rate (CCR), 0.12 lean loading, 5 wt% NH3 in the make-up solvent, and different flue gas compositions. The results demonstrated an average CCR of 89.70 %, with solvent losses below 10 %, and regeneration energy values within literature-reported ranges. An extended techno-economic sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the influence of NH3 sourcing pathways and plant capacity on the total operating cost and carbon capture cost. Results showed that most cases remained within the same order of magnitude as current carbon market prices, reinforcing the economic viability of the proposed PCC configurations. This evaluation, incorporating relevant metrics such as the industry sector index (ISI), capacity sector index (CSI), and available CO2 score index (ACSI), identified cost-effective carbon capture scenarios. Clustering analysis, supported by principal component analysis (PCA), revealed three distinct groups of industrial cases based on economic and operational charac�teristics. Cement plants, natural gas and coal-fired power plants exhibited the highest ISI scores, with 200 t/h to 300 t/h plant capacities being identified as suitable for PCC implementation. The ASCI analysis determined that CO2 concentrations between 17–19 % and 11–17 % were most suitable for 200 t/h and 300 t/h plants, respectively