TOWARDS LOW EMISSION POWER PANTS: BIOMASS CO-FIRING COMBINED WITH POST-COMBUSTION CO2 CAPTURE

Coal-fired power plants generate significant amounts of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Among carbon mitigation strategies, biomass co-firing with coal in existing coal-based power generation plants combined with post-combustion CO2 capture is one of the potential options for reducing fossil-based CO2 emissions. Co-firing biomass with coal can also reduce the emissions of SO2 and NOx. Post-combustion CO2 capture based on chemical absorption is the most advanced technology that can be relatively easily integrated into existing power plants without altering the combustion process. However, the addition of carbon capture technologies may significantly reduce the net efficiency of a plant (by up to 14% points). As the result, more fuel will be used in order to generate the same amount of energy as the reference plant. The use of biomass co-firing can avoid the release of fossil-based CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. It is estimated that about 140 kilotonnes of fossil-CO2 emissions per year can be avoided by co-firing 10% biomass in a power plant with a capacity of 330 MW.