Technoeconomic analysis of a methanol plant based on gasification of biomass and electrolysis of water

International audienceMethanol production process configurations based on renewable energy sources have been designed. The processes were analyzed in the thermodynamic process simulation tool DNA. The syngas used for the catalytic methanol production was produced by gasification of biomass, electrolysis of water, CO from post-combustion capture and autothermal reforming of natural gas or biogas. Underground gas storage of hydrogen and oxygen was used in connection with the electrolysis to enable the electrolyser to follow the variations in the power produced by renewables. Six plant configurations, each with a different syngas production method, were compared. The plants achieve methanol exergy efficiencies of 59-72%, the best from a configuration incorporating autothermal reforming of biogas and electrolysis of water for syngas production. The different processes in the plants are highly heat integrated, and the low-temperature waste heat is used for district heat production. This results in high total energy efficiencies (~90%) for the plants. The specific methanol costs for the six plants are in the range 11.8-25.3 €/GJ. The lowest cost is obtained by a plant using electrolysis of water, gasification of biomass and autothermal reforming of natural gas for syngas production

Alternative Transportation Energy

Transportation energy issues are moving to the forefront of the public consciousness in the U.S. and particularly California, and gaining increasing attention from legislators and regulators. The three principal concerns motivating interest in transportation energy are urban air quality, oil dependence, and the threat of global warming. Transportation fuels are a principal contributor to each of these. The transportation sector, mostly motor vehicles, contributes roughly half the urban air pollutants, almost one-third of the carbon dioxide, and consumes over 60% of all petroleum