Proposing a Model for Optimal Utilization of Carbon Capture and Storage Technology in a Power Plant

given the significant increase of greenhouse gases concentration in the atmosphere (esp. carbon dioxide), reducing these gases seems necessary to combat global warming. Power plants are one of the main sources of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission. Hence, CO2 capture and storage (CCS) technology is receiving considerable attention as a potential greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation option for fossil-fuel power plants. Two of the world-wide concerns in this issue are whether the establishment and the use of CCS technology in power plants are economical and how the CO2 captured by a CCS system can be optimally stored and used.Considering various CO2 storage and utilization options including injecting CO2 to empty oil or gas wells, enhancing oil recovery (EOR) or coal bed methane recovery (ECBM) in declining oil and coal wells, using CO2 in several industries, and burying CO2 under oceans or saline aquifers, an optimization model is presented in this research to minimize the costs of CCS technology by optimally finding the best CO2 storage and utilization options (resources). The model also decides whether the establishment and the use of CCS technology in a power plant are economical. The revenues of CO2 sale, clean development mechanism (CDM) bonds, and emission reduction as a negative cost along with distances of resources to power plants and capacities of resources are some of the model’s important factors whose changes can affect the results