Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and exergetic life cycle assessment (ELCA) of an innovative energy cycle with zero CO2 emissions

An Exergetic Life Cycle Assessment (ELCA) and a classical environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) have been carried out for a zero CO2 emissions power cycle. It is basically a regenerative gas cycle operating on CO2 as the working fluid and using O-2 as the fuel oxidiser. The main cycle feature is the removal of the CO2 produced in the combustion process in liquid or supercritical state at high pressure levels, ready for transportation, reuse or final storage. The LCA is mainly focussed on CO2 production during the three phases of construction, operation and dismantling of the complete plant. This is necessary to verify if the process is effective in terms Of CO2 reduction. Besides the classic LCA, also an ELCA was performed, whose aim is to assess the cost, in term of exergy losses, of the life cycle of the plant. Results showed an effective decrease Of CO2 emissions during the entire life cycle if compared with those of a conventional combined cycle. Concerning the Exergetic Life Cycle Assessment, results showed that the major exergy waste occurs during the cycle operating phase, due to the combustion process.