Techno-Economic Analysis of Heavy Fuel Oil Hydrodesulfurization Process for Application in Power Plants

In Iran, power plants use liquid fuels such as heavy fuel oil (HFO) or mazut to prevent disruption in power generation. The high percentage of sulfur compounds in HFO and the lack of efforts to remove it cause significant damage to the environment. The purpose of this research is performing a techno-economic analysis of the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) process of HFO. The results show that for removing 85% of sulfur compounds from HFO with 3.5 wt % sulfur compounds at a volume flow rate of 250 m3/h, the total capital investment and the net production cost are 308.9 million USD and 114.5 million USD/year respectively. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis indicates that with a 100% increase in the catalyst loading, the mass percentage of sulfur compounds in the HFO decreases by more than 15%, which adds 6.4% and 32% to the total capital investment and net production cost respectively. With a 100% increase in the gas-to-oil ratio, the mass percentage of sulfur compounds in the HFO decreases by more than 15.3%, which adds 43.8% and 6% to the total capital investment and net production cost respectively. With a 100% increase in the pressure of the HDS process, the mass percentage of sulfur compounds in the HFO declines by more than 20.75%, which adds 43% and 6.75% to the total capital investment and net production cost respectively. Ultimately, with a 100% increase in the inlet temperature of the beds, the mass percentage of sulfur compounds in the HFO is reduced by more than 5%. Among the effective operational parameters, hydrogen consumption has the greatest impact on net production cost and payback period, and the pressure of the hydrodesulfurization process has the most significant influence on increasing the total capital investment of the process.