Identifying the ideal process configuration for a green methanol production plant dependent on economic boundary conditions

Abstract

The production of second-generation biofuels from agricultural waste products represent a sustainable option for future fuel and chemical industry. Yet, due to the local biomass availability, the identification of process designs dependent on the site-specific boundary conditions is mandatory to assess their potential contribution to a sustainable transition. While biomass-based routes have the advantage of mature technologies, the combination with renewably-generated hydrogen provides the opportunity to significantly increase the extent of carbon utilisation. Via dual fluidized bed gasification, gas cleaning, and a subsequent methanol synthesis and purification, grade AA methanol can be synthesised. With its ability of a direct CO2-conversion at a high selectivity towards methanol, the methanol synthesis constitutes a promising option to chemically store fluctuating renewable energy. The potential of a biomass-to-liquid concept is analysed incorporating economic constraints into the process design to allow the identification of regionally adjusted process designs. The production costs of the concepts are estimated by setting up a detailed flowsheet simulation in AspenPlus®. A techno-economic evaluation methodology has been extended by an automated utility integration to identify European sweet spots. The conducted evaluation includes two different process configurations for two different biogenic feedstocks, including the integration of hydrogen produced through renewable sources. A correlation between economic boundary conditions such as the electricity and heat market, and the process design will be presented. Finally, the potential contribution of the investigated (power&)biomass-to-liquid process to a green methanol economy is discussed.