Feasibility study of methanol production from different renewable sources and thermo-economic analysis

摘要

This paper aims to present a thermo-economic approach for methanol production comparing different renewable energy sources. In this study, the methanol is produced from the CO2 hydrogenation in a pressurized reactor; two different plant configurations are analyzed: in the first carbon dioxide is obtained from biogas upgrade, while in the second one CO2 is acquired from external sources. Carbon dioxide is mixed with hydrogen and then the gas is sent into the reactor for methanol synthesis. Hydrogen is produced by an alkaline pressurized electrolyzer (1 MW, 30 bar) fed by time-dependent electrical energy produced by renewable plants (hydroelectric, wind or photovoltaic), when available; in the remaining periods, electricity is purchased by the national grid.