Co-production of synthetic fuels and district heat from biomass residues, carbon dioxide and electricity: Performance and cost analysis

Large-scale systems suitable for the production of synthetic natural gas (SNG), methanol or gasoline (MTG) are examined using a self-consistent design, simulation and cost analysis framework. Three basic production routes are considered: (1) production from biomass via gasification; (2) from carbon dioxide and electricity via water electrolysis; (3) from biomass and electricity via hybrid process combining elements from routes (1) and (2). Process designs are developed based on technologies that are either commercially available or successfully demonstrated at precommercial scale. The prospective economics of future facilities coproducing fuels and district heat are evaluated from the perspective of a synthetic fuel producer. The levelised production costs range from 18e37 V/GJ for natural gas, 21e40 V/GJ for methanol and 23e48 V/GJ for gasoline, depending on the production route. For a given end-product, the lowest costs are associated with thermochemical plant configurations, followed by hybrid and electrochemical plants. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Background and scope Deep reductions in anthropogenic emissions are required to stabilise the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) [1]. As transportation and power generation are the two largest sources of global CO2 emissions, they are also the most critical sectors of the economy where cuts need to take place [2]. In the power sector, near-term solutions for CO2 management include photovoltaics, wind power, biopower, nuclear power and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. Most of these options are ready for large-scale deployment and capable of inducing deep emissions cuts [3]. In the transportation sector, emissions can mainly be reduced by improvements in efficiency and change in vehicle fuel. However, most of the alternative fuel options (e.g. starchbased ethanol, biogas and electricity) require modifications to the current vehicle fleet and/or fuel distribution infrastructure, which severely limits the near-term potential for emissions cuts from the sector. For the medium-term, synthetically manufactured fuels (synfuels) are attracting attention as a way to produce alternative fuels that are compatible with the existing transportation infrastructure [4]. Technology for the production of synthetic fuels from fossil feedstocks, such as coal or shale, has existed for almost a century. However, when coal is used as feedstock, the resulting net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are about * Tel.: þ358 40 838 0960. E-mail address: [email protected]. Available online at www.sciencedirect.com