Techno-economic optimization of a cryogenic carbon capture process based on CO2 desublimation for transport applications

Costa, Alexis; Dubois, Lionel; Duprez, Marie-Eve; Thomas, Diane; De Weireld, Guy

doi:10.1016/j.ijggc.2026.104749

Article (Scientific journals)

Techno-economic optimization of a cryogenic carbon capture process based on CO2 desublimation for transport applications

Costa, Alexis; Dubois, Lionel; Duprez, Marie-Eve et al.

2026 • In International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 155, p. 104749

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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12907/56693

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10.1016/j.ijggc.2026.104749

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Keywords :

Carbon capture process; Cryogenic carbon capture; Optimization; Techno-economic analysis

Abstract :

[en] Climate change poses a major challenge that requires urgent actions to counteract the harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly CO2. A comprehensive analysis and optimization of a Cryogenic Carbon Capture (CCC) process based on CO2 desublimation is performed to enhance the recovery and purity of CO2 captured from flue gas to meet the CO2 specifications for transport, storage, or utilization. The proposed system, modeled in Aspen Plus and optimized using a Probabilistic Surrogate-Assisted Framework (PSAF), achieves high CO2 recovery (up to 99%) and purity (>99.99 mol%) while minimizing electrical energy consumption. The study investigates the impact of key process variables, i.e., flue gas CO2 concentration, contact liquid temperature and flow rate, and product CO2 state (liquid or gaseous) on the energy and economic performance of the CCC process. The results show that electrical consumption ranges between 330 and 435 kWh/tCO2, depending on flue gas composition and recovery targets. Economic analysis reveals capture costs between 70 and 120 €/tCO2 (at an electricity price of 100 €/MWh without carbon taxes) with significant sensitivity to electricity prices and carbon taxes, while environmental assessment underscores the importance of renewable electricity sources in maximizing CO2 avoided emissions. Overall, this work confirms the technical viability, economic competitiveness, and environmental potential of CCC based on desublimation for post-combustion CO2 capture, particularly for medium to high CO2 concentrations in flue gases.

Disciplines :

Chemical engineering

Author, co-author :

Costa, Alexis ; Université de Mons - UMONS > Faculté Polytechnique > Service de Thermodynamique, Physique mathématiques

Dubois, Lionel ; Université de Mons - UMONS > Faculté Polytechnique > Service de Génie des Procédés chimiques et biochimiques

Duprez, Marie-Eve ; Université de Mons - UMONS > Faculté Polytechnique > Service de Thermodynamique, Physique mathématiques

Thomas, Diane ; Université de Mons - UMONS > Faculté Polytechnique > Service de Génie des Procédés chimiques et biochimiques

De Weireld, Guy ; Université de Mons - UMONS > Faculté Polytechnique > Service de Thermodynamique, Physique mathématiques

Language :

English

Title :

Techno-economic optimization of a cryogenic carbon capture process based on CO2 desublimation for transport applications

Publication date :

September 2026

Journal title :

International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control

ISSN :

1750-5836

eISSN :

1878-0148

Publisher :

Elsevier Ltd

Volume :

155

Pages :

104749

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S1750583626001817?httpAccept=text/xml

Research unit :

F506 - Thermodynamique, Physique mathématiques
F505 - Génie des Procédés chimiques et biochimiques

Research institute :

R200 - Institut de Recherche en Energie

Funders :

Walloon Public Service
European Commission

Funding text :

The authors acknowledge the SPF Economie (Belgium) for funding the DRIVER project in the framework of the Energy Transition Fund program. Wallonia is also warmly acknowledged for the funding of the SATURN project in the framework of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), initiated and financed by the European Union.

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