Electrification of amine-based CO2 capture utilizing heat pumps

•An integrated simulation approach is applied to model CO2 capture and heat pumps.•A 2-stage heat pump system is utilized to electrify an MEA-based biogas upgrading process.•Heat pump performance (COP) is investigated at varied stripper pressures.•Heat pumps with vacuum operated stripper reduces energy consumption by up to 68 %.•A techno-economic analysis shows a levelized cost reduction of up to 33 %. Capturing CO2 is necessary to abate the climate crisis. Amine CO2 capture is the most mature technology but suffers from high thermal energy consumption for solvent regeneration. Heat pumps are a proven technology with which to electrify industrial processes. This study investigates an integrated heat pump system used to electrify an amine CO2 capture unit for a biogas upgrading process using aqueous monoethanolamine. The study evaluates the potential of such integrated systems through the overall energy consumption at varied stripper pressures between 0.313 to 1.813 bara and includes a techno-economic analysis to determine the levelized cost. The most optimal heat pump scenario utilizes a vacuum operated stripper at 0.513 bara and reduces the overall energy consumption by 68 % compared to a classical amine scrubbing unit. The techno-economic analysis shows that the levelized costs for biogas upgrading per MWh of produced biomethane may be reduced by up to 33 % from 47 €/MWh to 31 €/MWh by implementing heat pump electrification systems and a vacuum operated stripper compared to a scenario using natural gas.