Methane production via syngas fermentation within the bio-CCS concept: A techno-economic assessment

Michailos, Stavros; Emenike, Oluchi; Ingham, D.; Hughes, Kevin J.; Pourkashanian, Mohamed

Abstract

The study provides a comprehensive approach on assessing the feasibility of a novel process configuration that couples synthetic natural gas (SNG) production via syngas fermentation with carbon capture and storage (CCS). The present research constitutes the first endeavour to examine the techno-economic performance of this sophisticated hybrid SNG+CCS infrastructure. For this purpose, a flowsheet analysis within the Aspen Plus environment served to quantify the material and energy flows and then based on the simulations technical and economic indicators were estimated. A plant processing 6.25 dt/h of virgin biomass yields 1.32 t/h of SNG, achieves 51.2% energy efficiency and stores 2.97 t/h of CO2. The threshold SNG price (NPV=0) for the project to become economically viable is 92.14 £/MWh. A combination of existing policy schemes and the establishment of new instruments that will reward negative emissions has the potential to generate profits. A thorough cost breakdown along with a sensitivity analysis revealed that the process is CAPEX and feedstock intensive while larger plants can reduce the SNG price by about 15%. A stochastic Monte Carlo analysis indicated that even if the project shows promising techno-economic potential without the establishment of a consistent and robust legislation framework there is no realistic prospect for the proposed bio-CCS plant to compete with fossil natural gas.

Citation

Michailos, S., Emenike, O., Ingham, D., Hughes, K. J., & Pourkashanian, M. (2019). Methane production via syngas fermentation within the bio-CCS concept: A techno-economic assessment. Biochemical Engineering Journal, 150, Article 107290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bej.2019.107290

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 1, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Jul 2, 2019
• Publication Date: Oct 15, 2019
• Deposit Date: Dec 5, 2022
• Journal: Biochemical Engineering Journal
• Print ISSN: 1369-703X
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-295X
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 150
• Article Number: 107290
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bej.2019.107290
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4130928