Integration of a Chemical Heat Pump with a Post- combustion Carbon Capture Sorption Unit

A novel process system which integrates an isopropanol-based chemical heat pump with a post-combustion carbon capture unit was proposed, designed, and analyzed. The system uses low-quality waste heat (~80�C) produced through the CO2 adsorption step of a carbon capture process and upgrades that heat to a higher temperature (~150�C) using the chemical heat pump. The chemical heat pump is powered mostly by the waste heat and requires only a small amount of electricity. The higher temperature heat produced can be used in the desorption stage of the CO2 capture process, displacing a portion of the existing fossil energy required. The energy and exergy performance characteristics of the chemical heat pump were computed using the results of a steady state simulation in a systems analysis. Using exergy cost correlations, the profitability of the chemical heat pump concept was estimated. It was found that for this particular configuration, the fossil energy load of desorption could be reduced by roughly 2.7% with very little parasitic electric load.