IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v249y2022ics0360544222005059.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Utilizing carbon dioxide from refinery flue gas for methanol production: System design and assessment

Author

Listed:
  • Ma, Qian
  • Chang, Yuan
  • Yuan, Bo
  • Song, Zhaozheng
  • Xue, Jinjun
  • Jiang, Qingzhe

Abstract

As a main growing greenhouse gas emitter, petroleum refining is responsible for 4%–10% of the global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, of which approximately 25% is derived from fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units. The flue gas released by FCC units has a high CO2 content (11–17 vol%), creating potential for methanol production when the methane and hydrogen in the dry gas as a byproduct of FCC are considered. To unlock this low-carbon opportunity for refineries, we employed Aspen Plus to develop a methanol synthesis system by recovering the CO2 in the flue gas and the methane and hydrogen in the dry gas of an FCC unit. Based on pinch theory, a process heat integration technique was designed and optimized to reduce the energy penalty of the system. The developed system enables an annual CO2 mitigation of 2.80 million tons and boosts the energy efficiency of the FCC units by 2.8%. The system developed by this study is more economically favorable than traditional coal-to-methanol production. The developed system provides technological routes for refineries to achieve large-scale CO2 mitigation, thus advancing the green transition of the petrochemical industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Ma, Qian & Chang, Yuan & Yuan, Bo & Song, Zhaozheng & Xue, Jinjun & Jiang, Qingzhe, 2022. "Utilizing carbon dioxide from refinery flue gas for methanol production: System design and assessment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:249:y:2022:i:c:s0360544222005059
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2022.123602
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544222005059
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2022.123602?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bos, M.J. & Kersten, S.R.A. & Brilman, D.W.F., 2020. "Wind power to methanol: Renewable methanol production using electricity, electrolysis of water and CO2 air capture," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    2. Cui, Chengtian & Li, Xingang & Sui, Hong & Sun, Jinsheng, 2017. "Optimization of coal-based methanol distillation scheme using process superstructure method to maximize energy efficiency," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 110-120.
    3. Wu, Handong & Gao, Lin & Jin, Hongguang & Li, Sheng, 2017. "Low-energy-penalty principles of CO2 capture in polygeneration systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 571-581.
    4. Zhang, Xiao-Bing & Xu, Jing, 2018. "Optimal policies for climate change: A joint consideration of CO2 and methane," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 1021-1029.
    5. Chauvy, Remi & Meunier, Nicolas & Thomas, Diane & De Weireld, Guy, 2019. "Selecting emerging CO2 utilization products for short- to mid-term deployment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 662-680.
    6. Chen, Chao & Lu, Yangsiyu & Banares-Alcantara, Rene, 2019. "Direct and indirect electrification of chemical industry using methanol production as a case study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 243(C), pages 71-90.
    7. Johansson, Daniella & Rootzén, Johan & Berntsson, Thore & Johnsson, Filip, 2012. "Assessment of strategies for CO2 abatement in the European petroleum refining industry," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 375-386.
    8. Perevertaylenko, Olexander Yu. & Gariev, Andriy O. & Damartzis, Theodoros & Tovazhnyanskyy, Leonid L. & Kapustenko, Petro O. & Arsenyeva, Olga P., 2015. "Searches of cost effective ways for amine absorption unit design in CO2 post-combustion capture process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(P1), pages 105-112.
    9. Yi, Qun & Wu, Guo-sheng & Gong, Min-hui & Huang, Yi & Feng, Jie & Hao, Yan-hong & Li, Wen-ying, 2017. "A feasibility study for CO2 recycle assistance with coke oven gas to synthetic natural gas," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 149-161.
    10. Chen, Qianqian & Gu, Yu & Tang, Zhiyong & Wei, Wei & Sun, Yuhan, 2018. "Assessment of low-carbon iron and steel production with CO2 recycling and utilization technologies: A case study in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 192-207.
    11. Mevawala, Chirag & Jiang, Yuan & Bhattacharyya, Debangsu, 2017. "Plant-wide modeling and analysis of the shale gas to dimethyl ether (DME) process via direct and indirect synthesis routes," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 163-180.
    12. Comodi, Gabriele & Renzi, Massimiliano & Rossi, Mosè, 2016. "Energy efficiency improvement in oil refineries through flare gas recovery technique to meet the emission trading targets," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 1-12.
    13. Pérez-Fortes, Mar & Schöneberger, Jan C. & Boulamanti, Aikaterini & Tzimas, Evangelos, 2016. "Methanol synthesis using captured CO2 as raw material: Techno-economic and environmental assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 718-732.
    14. Matzen, Michael & Alhajji, Mahdi & Demirel, Yaşar, 2015. "Chemical storage of wind energy by renewable methanol production: Feasibility analysis using a multi-criteria decision matrix," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P1), pages 343-353.
    15. Zhang, Hanfei & Wang, Ligang & Pérez-Fortes, Mar & Van herle, Jan & Maréchal, François & Desideri, Umberto, 2020. "Techno-economic optimization of biomass-to-methanol with solid-oxide electrolyzer," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    16. Yu, Haoshui & Feng, Xiao & Wang, Yufei & Biegler, Lorenz T. & Eason, John, 2016. "A systematic method to customize an efficient organic Rankine cycle (ORC) to recover waste heat in refineries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 302-315.
    17. Man, Yi & Yang, Siyu & Zhang, Jun & Qian, Yu, 2014. "Conceptual design of coke-oven gas assisted coal to olefins process for high energy efficiency and low CO2 emission," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 197-205.
    18. Chen, Jianjun & Yang, Siyu & Qian, Yu, 2019. "A novel path for carbon-rich resource utilization with lower emission and higher efficiency: An integrated process of coal gasification and coking to methanol production," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 304-318.
    19. Blumberg, Timo & Morosuk, Tatiana & Tsatsaronis, George, 2017. "Exergy-based evaluation of methanol production from natural gas with CO2 utilization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 2528-2539.
    20. Sun, Jinsheng & Wang, Fan & Ma, Tingting & Gao, Hong & Wu, Peng & Liu, Lili, 2012. "Energy and exergy analysis of a five-column methanol distillation scheme," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 696-703.
    21. Mei, H. & Li, Y.P. & Suo, C. & Ma, Y. & Lv, J., 2020. "Analyzing the impact of climate change on energy-economy-carbon nexus system in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    22. Yi, Qun & Gong, Min-Hui & Huang, Yi & Feng, Jie & Hao, Yan-Hong & Zhang, Ji-Long & Li, Wen-Ying, 2016. "Process development of coke oven gas to methanol integrated with CO2 recycle for satisfactory techno-economic performance," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 618-628.
    23. Al-Kalbani, Haitham & Xuan, Jin & García, Susana & Wang, Huizhi, 2016. "Comparative energetic assessment of methanol production from CO2: Chemical versus electrochemical process," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 1-13.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Galusnyak, Stefan Cristian & Petrescu, Letitia & Chisalita, Dora Andreea & Cormos, Calin-Cristian, 2022. "Life cycle assessment of methanol production and conversion into various chemical intermediates and products," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tabibian, Seyed Shayan & Sharifzadeh, Mahdi, 2023. "Statistical and analytical investigation of methanol applications, production technologies, value-chain and economy with a special focus on renewable methanol," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    2. Kim, Dongin & Han, Jeehoon, 2020. "Techno-economic and climate impact analysis of carbon utilization process for methanol production from blast furnace gas over Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    3. Hermesmann, M. & Grübel, K. & Scherotzki, L. & Müller, T.E., 2021. "Promising pathways: The geographic and energetic potential of power-to-x technologies based on regeneratively obtained hydrogen," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    4. Adnan, Muflih A. & Kibria, Md Golam, 2020. "Comparative techno-economic and life-cycle assessment of power-to-methanol synthesis pathways," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    5. Kotowicz, J. & Brzęczek, M., 2021. "Methods to increase the efficiency of production and purification installations of renewable methanol," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 568-583.
    6. Lee, Boreum & Lee, Hyunjun & Lim, Dongjun & Brigljević, Boris & Cho, Wonchul & Cho, Hyun-Seok & Kim, Chang-Hee & Lim, Hankwon, 2020. "Renewable methanol synthesis from renewable H2 and captured CO2: How can power-to-liquid technology be economically feasible?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    7. Shin, Sunkyu & Lee, Jeong-Keun & Lee, In-Beum, 2020. "Development and techno-economic study of methanol production from coke-oven gas blended with Linz Donawitz gas," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    8. Galusnyak, Stefan Cristian & Petrescu, Letitia & Chisalita, Dora Andreea & Cormos, Calin-Cristian, 2022. "Life cycle assessment of methanol production and conversion into various chemical intermediates and products," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    9. Svitnič, Tibor & Sundmacher, Kai, 2022. "Renewable methanol production: Optimization-based design, scheduling and waste-heat utilization with the FluxMax approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
    10. Li, Xiaodong & Jinxi, Wang, 2023. "A novel process for the simultaneous production of methanol, oxygen, and electricity using a PEM electrolyzer and agricultural-based landfill gas-fed oxyfuel combustion power plant," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    11. Mohammed Bin Afif & Abdulla Bin Afif & Harry Apostoleris & Krishiv Gandhi & Anup Dadlani & Amal Al Ghaferi & Jan Torgersen & Matteo Chiesa, 2022. "Ultra-Cheap Renewable Energy as an Enabling Technology for Deep Industrial Decarbonization via Capture and Utilization of Process CO 2 Emissions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-15, July.
    12. Campion, Nicolas & Nami, Hossein & Swisher, Philip R. & Vang Hendriksen, Peter & Münster, Marie, 2023. "Techno-economic assessment of green ammonia production with different wind and solar potentials," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    13. Kotowicz, Janusz & Węcel, Daniel & Brzęczek, Mateusz, 2021. "Analysis of the work of a “renewable” methanol production installation based ON H2 from electrolysis and CO2 from power plants," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    14. Zhang, Hanfei & Desideri, Umberto, 2020. "Techno-economic optimization of power-to-methanol with co-electrolysis of CO2 and H2O in solid-oxide electrolyzers," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    15. Ravikumar, Dwarakanath & Keoleian, Gregory & Miller, Shelie, 2020. "The environmental opportunity cost of using renewable energy for carbon capture and utilization for methanol production," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    16. Yang, Qingchun & Yang, Qing & Xu, Simin & Zhang, Dawei & Liu, Chengling & Zhou, Huairong, 2021. "Optimal design, exergy and economic analyses of coal-to-ethylene glycol process coupling different shale gas reforming technologies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    17. Chen, Jianjun & Yang, Siyu & Qian, Yu, 2019. "A novel path for carbon-rich resource utilization with lower emission and higher efficiency: An integrated process of coal gasification and coking to methanol production," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 304-318.
    18. Al-Qahtani, Amjad & González-Garay, Andrés & Bernardi, Andrea & Galán-Martín, Ángel & Pozo, Carlos & Dowell, Niall Mac & Chachuat, Benoit & Guillén-Gosálbez, Gonzalo, 2020. "Electricity grid decarbonisation or green methanol fuel? A life-cycle modelling and analysis of today′s transportation-power nexus," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    19. Kim, Dongin & Han, Jeehoon, 2020. "Comprehensive analysis of two catalytic processes to produce formic acid from carbon dioxide," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    20. Yi, Qun & Wu, Guo-sheng & Gong, Min-hui & Huang, Yi & Feng, Jie & Hao, Yan-hong & Li, Wen-ying, 2017. "A feasibility study for CO2 recycle assistance with coke oven gas to synthetic natural gas," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 149-161.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:249:y:2022:i:c:s0360544222005059. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.