The advancement of zero-emission natural gas power plants and their role in future energy supply

Reducing the CO₂ emission from the power sector is one of the effective ways to mitigate global warming. Net-zero-emission power generation implies the control of not only pollutants such as NOx, CO and organic air pollutants but also greenhouse gas CO₂. In traditional gas power plants, a huge amount of CO₂ is generated, which has to be captured to achieve the near-zero emission target. Carbon capture in the power industry is technically and economically challenging due to the energy penalty and high capital cost. CO₂ taxation among others is expected to accelerate the progress of zero-emission power plants. The concept of zero- and near-zero-emission power plants can be realized by combining advanced power cycles and carbon capture technologies. Scientists and engineers are striving hard to improve the efficiency of power cycles and decrease the cost of carbon capture. Novel systems combining carbon capture technologies and advanced power cycles are reviewed in this paper. Each country has its own roadmap and timeline to achieve the zero-emission target in power sector. Therefore, the role of the zero-emission natural gas power plants in the future energy supply depends heavily on the country. In this paper, the prospect of the zero-emission natural gas power plants in the USA, China and Denmark are analyzed.