Author(s)

Asfaw Gezae Daful^*, Zin Eddine Dadach

Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The final goal of this applied research is to simulate a Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) power plant with a CO₂ capture unit. The originality of this investigation is the integration of a methanation process to produce the natural gas of the power plant from the captured CO₂. The objective of this first part of the investigation is to simulate a methanation reactor for the production of methane using 1 kg/hr. of captured carbon dioxide containing 95% mol. CO₂ and 5% mol. H₂O. To reach this goal, Aspen Plus software and the Redlich-Kwong-Soave equation of state with modified Huron-Vidal mixing rules are utilized. Three parameters are considered in order to maximize the production of CH₄ production: 1) temperature, varying from 250°C to 300°C, 2) pressure varying between 10 atm to 40 atm and 3) [H₂/CO₂] ratio which varies between 2 to 6. The maximum production of methane of 0.875 kmol/hr. was obtained for the following operating conditions: [H₂/CO₂] ratio of 3.5, at relatively low temperature (250°C - 270°C) and high pressures 30 and 40 atm.

Methanation Reactor, NGCC, CH₄, CO₂, Simulation, Reaction Kinetics

Daful, A.G. and Dadach, Z.E. (2019) Simulation of a NGCC Power Generation Plant for the Production of Electricity from CO₂ Emissions Part I: The Methanation Reactor. Journal of Power and Energy Engineering, 7, 1-14. doi: 10.4236/jpee.2019.77001.