Renewable olefin synthesis from flue gas: Process development from a green perspective

초록

The chemical industry is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies offer a promising route to decarbonize the chemical sector. One such approach is the direct conversion of CO2 into light olefins, which are important building blocks for various chemicals. However, the impact of kinetics-driven operating variables of the olefin synthesis reaction on the system-level performance has been neglected in prior research. In this work, we develop a flue-gas-to-olefin process that integrates detailed reactor kinetics. A Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson kinetic model is embedded to systematically explore the effects of reactor temperature and gas hourly space velocity on plant-wide performance. We perform comprehensive techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment to evaluate the overall costs and life-cycle emissions of the proposed process. In addition, the effects of incorporating environmental credits on economic competitiveness are considered, including the roles of carbon and hydrogen credits. This work establishes a multiscale link between reaction kinetics and system-level performance, guiding the economic and environmental viability of CO2-to-olefin technologies.

키워드