Process Development and Technoeconomic Analysis of Different Integration Methods of Coal-to-Ethylene Glycol Process and Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells

Abstract

The conventional coal-to-ethylene glycol (CtEG) process is criticized for its high CO 2 emissions. Because most CtEG projects are located in areas rich in renewable energy such as wind energy and solar energy, two novel green hydrogen-assisted CtEG processes are proposed and analyzed by the integration of solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) technology: the CtEG process integrated with the SOEC technology of only steam electrolysis (SOEC-CtEG) and that of steam and carbon dioxide electrolysis (CoSOEC-CtEG). The effects of the operating temperature, current density, and inlet gas composition on the electrochemical performance of the solid oxide steam electrolytic and coelectrolytic processes are investigated and compared based on their electrochemical and flowsheet-based models. The thermodynamic and technoeconomic advantages of the two proposed processes are manifested by comparison with a conventional process. The results show that the two proposed processes are promising because they increase the carbon utilization efficiency by 26.13 and 22.48%, increase the exergy efficiency by 14.82 and 17.34%, decrease the total capital investment by 23.60 and 19.38%, decrease the levelized production cost by 20.55 and 27.47%, and increase the internal rate of return by 8.85 and 9.18%. In addition, the sensitivity analysis results show that the two proposed processes have stronger antirisk ability than the conventional process.

Conceptual Design and Techno-Economic Analysis of a Novel Coal-to-Polyglycolic Acid Process Considering Wind–Solar Energy Complementary Features for Green H2 Production and CO2 Reduction

“…A coal and shale gas to methanol process developed by Xiang et al has a higher exergy efficiency and environmental performance than that of the conventional coal-to-methanol process. In addition, Yang et al found that the coal-to-ethylene glycol process integrated with coke oven gas can increase the exergy efficiency of the convention technology by 4.41–10.28% and decrease direct CO 2 emissions by 70.39–95.28%. Among various hydrogen production technologies, the green hydrogen generated by renewable resources has many advantages, such as clean source, high efficiency, and low carbon, and is regarded as one of the most suitable hydrogen sources for the coal chemical industry. , In this regard, several researchers have developed several green hydrogen-assisted coal chemical processes.…”

“…In addition, Yang et al found that the coal-to-ethylene glycol process integrated with coke oven gas can increase the exergy efficiency of the convention technology by 4.41–10.28% and decrease direct CO 2 emissions by 70.39–95.28%. Among various hydrogen production technologies, the green hydrogen generated by renewable resources has many advantages, such as clean source, high efficiency, and low carbon, and is regarded as one of the most suitable hydrogen sources for the coal chemical industry. , In this regard, several researchers have developed several green hydrogen-assisted coal chemical processes. For example, a hybrid energy framework is proposed by Chen et al to balance the proportion of H 2 and CO in the synthesis gas.…”

Emerging catalysts for the ambient synthesis of ethylene glycol from CO2 and its derivatives

“…It has been predicted that the global production capacity of EG could be higher than 60 million tons by 2025. 1 The Coal-to-EG (CTEG) technology is a novel and atom economy technology that could continuously produce EG on a large scale. 2 In 2009, the CTEG technology from Yao's group was first applied to produce EG, 2 and it has entered the stage of industrialization.…”

Plant-wide Modeling, Design Consideration, and Practical Hierarchical Control Strategy Considering Key Variable Integral Characteristics for an Industrial Alkaline Water Electrolyzer Plant

“…At present, the three main water electrolysis technologies available are alkaline water electrolysis (AEL), polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis (PEMEL), and solid oxide electrolysis (SOEL) . Compared with the high-temperature SOEL technology which is still under investigation, the low-temperature technologies AEL and PEMEL turn out to be commercially available in the market owing to their high technology readiness levels .…”

“…At present, the three main water electrolysis technologies available are alkaline water electrolysis (AEL), 6 polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis (PEMEL), 7 electrolysis (SOEL). 8 Compared with the high-temperature SOEL technology which is still under investigation, the lowtemperature technologies AEL and PEMEL turn out to be commercially available in the market owing to their high technology readiness levels. 9 AEL currently reports an investment cost of 800 to 1500 V/kW compared to that of the PEMEL, which ranges from 1400 to 2100 V/kW, 10 determining AEL to be the most favorable electrolysis design for large-scale applications.…”