Work

Bio-methanol with negative CO2 emissions from residual forestry biomass gasification: Modelling and techno-economic assessment of different process configurations

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The paper presents a techno-economic comparison among five alternative process configurations for bio-methanol production from the gasification of residual forestry biomass. Process design and simulations are performed in Aspen Plus for mass and energy balance calculation , followed by preliminary sizing and economic analysis. Process schemes include a gasification island (state-of-the-art low-pressure gasification compared against a high-pressure gasifier) with syngas conditioning and compression, heat recovery, syngas composition adjustment (by CO 2 capture or addition of hydrogen produced by electrolysis), methanol synthesis and purification and a heat recovery cycle for power generation . CO 2 capture is performed with conventional chemical absorption in the benchmark cases, while low-temperature partial condensation of CO 2 is modeled in the advanced scenario. Methanol output is 14–15 kt/y in the CO 2 capture cases and 36 kt/y in the H 2 addition option. Configurations with a pressurized gasifier and phase-change-based CO 2 separation are the most efficient ones, with a primary energy efficiency of 50 % and a Levelized Cost of Methanol (LCOM) of 700 €/t MeOH . In comparison, LCOM increases to 730 €/t MeOH in the case with conventional capture or between 792 €/t MeOH and 831 €/t MeOH (depending on the CCS technology) if the gasification pressure is conservatively reduced to 2.5 bar. In the H 2 addition scenario, LCOM increases to 821 €/t MeOH due to the significant impact of the electricity consumption for H 2 production, (only partly compensated by the increased methanol production). Scenarios with CO 2 capture feature negative CO 2 emissions, in the range −1.64 to −1.84 t CO2eq /t MeOH , as a result of the capture and storage of biogenic CO 2 (BECCS approach).

Source: Biomass and Bioenergy

DOI: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2024.107315

Authors: Giorgia Lombardelli, Roberto Scaccabarozzi, Antonio Conversano, Manuele Gatti

Institution: Politecnico di Milano

Language: English

Topic: Thermochemical Biomass Conversion Processes

Subfield: Biomedical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Affordable and clean energy, Responsible consumption and production, Climate action

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,150