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, causing significant damage to the environment. The purpose of this research is performing a techno-economic analysis on the Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) process of HFO. The results showed that for removing 85% of sulfur compounds from HFO with a volume flow rate of 250 m3/h that includes 3.5% wt sulfur compounds, the total capital investment and the net production cost are 308.9 million US$ and 114.5 million US$/year, respectively. Besides, the sensitivity analysis indicates that with a 100% increase in the catalyst loading, the mass percentage of sulfur compounds in the HFO will be decreased by 15% more. Also, 6.4% and 32% will add 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 will be decreased by 15.3% more. Also, 43.8% and 6% will be added 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 will be reduced by 20.75% more. Also, 43% and 6.75% will be added to the total capital investment and net production cost, respectively. Ultimately, with a 100% increase in the inlet temperature of beds, the mass percentage of sulfur compounds in the HFO will be reduced by 5% more. 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 greatest impact on increasing the total capital investment of the process.