Ultra-Cheap Renewable Energy as an Enabling Technology for Deep Industrial Decarbonization via Capture and Utilization of Process CO<sub>2</sub> Emissions
Rapidly declining costs of renewable energy technologies have made solar and wind the cheapest sources of energy in many parts of the world. This has been seen primarily as enabling the rapid decarbonization of the electricity sector, but low-cost, low-carbon energy can have a great secondary impact...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/14/5181 |
| _version_ | 1797439681473806336 |
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| author | Mohammed Bin Afif Abdulla Bin Afif Harry Apostoleris Krishiv Gandhi Anup Dadlani Amal Al Ghaferi Jan Torgersen Matteo Chiesa |
| author_facet | Mohammed Bin Afif Abdulla Bin Afif Harry Apostoleris Krishiv Gandhi Anup Dadlani Amal Al Ghaferi Jan Torgersen Matteo Chiesa |
| author_sort | Mohammed Bin Afif |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Rapidly declining costs of renewable energy technologies have made solar and wind the cheapest sources of energy in many parts of the world. This has been seen primarily as enabling the rapid decarbonization of the electricity sector, but low-cost, low-carbon energy can have a great secondary impact by reducing the costs of energy-intensive decarbonization efforts in other areas. In this study, we consider, by way of an exemplary carbon capture and utilization cycle based on mature technologies, the energy requirements of the “industrial carbon cycle”, an emerging paradigm in which industrial CO<sub>2</sub> emissions are captured and reprocessed into chemicals and fuels, and we assess the impact of declining renewable energy costs on overall economics of these processes. In our exemplary process, CO<sub>2</sub> is captured from a cement production facility via an amine scrubbing process and combined with hydrogen produced by a solar-powered polymer electrolyte membrane, using electrolysis to produce methanol. We show that solar heat and electricity generation costs currently realized in the Middle East lead to a large reduction in the cost of this process relative to baseline assumptions found in published literature, and extrapolation of current energy price trends into the near future would bring costs down to the level of current fossil-fuel-based processes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:57:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6fafd6c26c684695affcbf8d95093015 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:57:39Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-6fafd6c26c684695affcbf8d950930152023-11-30T23:08:02ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732022-07-011514518110.3390/en15145181Ultra-Cheap Renewable Energy as an Enabling Technology for Deep Industrial Decarbonization via Capture and Utilization of Process CO<sub>2</sub> EmissionsMohammed Bin Afif0Abdulla Bin Afif1Harry Apostoleris2Krishiv Gandhi3Anup Dadlani4Amal Al Ghaferi5Jan Torgersen6Matteo Chiesa7Laboratory for Energy and NanoScience (LENS), Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 127788, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, NTNU Trondheim, 7491 Trondheim, NorwayR&D Center, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Dubai P.O. Box 564, United Arab EmiratesR&D Center, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Dubai P.O. Box 564, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, NTNU Trondheim, 7491 Trondheim, NorwayLaboratory for Energy and NanoScience (LENS), Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 127788, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, NTNU Trondheim, 7491 Trondheim, NorwayLaboratory for Energy and NanoScience (LENS), Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 127788, United Arab EmiratesRapidly declining costs of renewable energy technologies have made solar and wind the cheapest sources of energy in many parts of the world. This has been seen primarily as enabling the rapid decarbonization of the electricity sector, but low-cost, low-carbon energy can have a great secondary impact by reducing the costs of energy-intensive decarbonization efforts in other areas. In this study, we consider, by way of an exemplary carbon capture and utilization cycle based on mature technologies, the energy requirements of the “industrial carbon cycle”, an emerging paradigm in which industrial CO<sub>2</sub> emissions are captured and reprocessed into chemicals and fuels, and we assess the impact of declining renewable energy costs on overall economics of these processes. In our exemplary process, CO<sub>2</sub> is captured from a cement production facility via an amine scrubbing process and combined with hydrogen produced by a solar-powered polymer electrolyte membrane, using electrolysis to produce methanol. We show that solar heat and electricity generation costs currently realized in the Middle East lead to a large reduction in the cost of this process relative to baseline assumptions found in published literature, and extrapolation of current energy price trends into the near future would bring costs down to the level of current fossil-fuel-based processes.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/14/5181renewable energy transitionsolar energycarbon capture and utilizationhydrogenrenewable methanoltechnoeconomic analysis |
| spellingShingle | Mohammed Bin Afif Abdulla Bin Afif Harry Apostoleris Krishiv Gandhi Anup Dadlani Amal Al Ghaferi Jan Torgersen Matteo Chiesa Ultra-Cheap Renewable Energy as an Enabling Technology for Deep Industrial Decarbonization via Capture and Utilization of Process CO<sub>2</sub> Emissions Energies renewable energy transition solar energy carbon capture and utilization hydrogen renewable methanol technoeconomic analysis |
| title | Ultra-Cheap Renewable Energy as an Enabling Technology for Deep Industrial Decarbonization via Capture and Utilization of Process CO<sub>2</sub> Emissions |
| title_full | Ultra-Cheap Renewable Energy as an Enabling Technology for Deep Industrial Decarbonization via Capture and Utilization of Process CO<sub>2</sub> Emissions |
| title_fullStr | Ultra-Cheap Renewable Energy as an Enabling Technology for Deep Industrial Decarbonization via Capture and Utilization of Process CO<sub>2</sub> Emissions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ultra-Cheap Renewable Energy as an Enabling Technology for Deep Industrial Decarbonization via Capture and Utilization of Process CO<sub>2</sub> Emissions |
| title_short | Ultra-Cheap Renewable Energy as an Enabling Technology for Deep Industrial Decarbonization via Capture and Utilization of Process CO<sub>2</sub> Emissions |
| title_sort | ultra cheap renewable energy as an enabling technology for deep industrial decarbonization via capture and utilization of process co sub 2 sub emissions |
| topic | renewable energy transition solar energy carbon capture and utilization hydrogen renewable methanol technoeconomic analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/14/5181 |
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