Performance analysis of an open absorption heat pump for the drying of CO2 mineralized materials

To reduce carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, carbon capture and storage (CCS) through CO2 mineralization of industrial solid waste has emerged as a promising strategy. However, the traditional wet mineralization requires thermal drying, which is highly energy-intensive and often relies on electricity-driven refrigeration, resulting in increased system operating costs and reduced carbon reduction effectiveness. To address this, a drying system integrated with an open absorption heat pump (DS-OAHP) is proposed, utilizing waste heat from coal-fired power plants to drive the drying process. An evaluation encompassing energy, economic, and environmental dimensions was executed using the developed process models. The findings demonstrate that an energy saving rate of 30.5% is attainable under a driven heat load of 253.4 kW and a generating temperature of 97.7 °C. Compared to the traditional systems with refrigeration dryer, the DS-OAHP reduces initial investment by 24,656.21 USD and lowers levelized cost of dehumidification by 0.01 USD/kgH2O. By replacing electricity with waste heat from coal-fired power plant, the system achieves an additional carbon reduction of 0.016 tons of CO2 per ton of material. This work is expected to provide a reference for energy-efficient waste heat recovery in the industrial application of CO2 mineralization.