Development of a novel CCU-ethanol process using reverse water-gas shift chemical looping
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This work focuses on the design, lifecycle assessment, and eco-techno-economic analysis of a novel CO 2 capture and utilization-sequestration (CCUS) route for ethanol production. The proposed process involves converting captured CO 2 into CO through an integrated reverse water-gas shift chemical looping system, followed by the conversion of the resulting syngas into ethanol. Three distinct routes for the unreacted CO 2 were considered: sequestering the excess CO 2 to have a hybrid CCUS process (P1), converting that to synthetic natural gas to have a combined CCU-Ethanol-SNG process (P2), or recycling excess CO 2 to the chemical looping unit (P3). Our simulation results showed that P1 and P3 have a lower overall thermal efficiency than P2, which is comparable to that of bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass. Furthermore, the simulation results are used to perform the lifecycle assessment of each route at different locations and compare the emissions with those of bioethanol production. The results reveal that in Quebec, where low-carbon electricity is prominent, the net CO 2 utilization reaches −3.7 kg CO 2 /kg of ethanol. Furthermore, a detailed eco-techno-economic assessment was performed for all pathways. The e-TEA results showed that a minimum CO 2 utilization credit between 650 and 966 USD/t of CO 2 is required to make the process financially sustainable. Sensitivity analysis of various parameters is conducted to determine the profitability of the processes.
Authors: Farah Mufarrij, Yaser Khojasteh
Institutions: Natural Resources Canada, Concordia University
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Award: G4421528879
OpenAlex ID: W7214792795