Paper details

Title:

Energy Analysis of a Plant Integrating Methanol and Electricity Production form Biogenic Waste: GICO Project

Author(s):

Palacios Aparicio, J.D., Papa, A.A., Di Carlo, A., Stendardo, S., Bocci, E.

Document(s):

Abstract:

The production of renewable fuels from waste biomass presents a viable alternative to fossil fuels and a promising strategy to mitigate climate change. Utilizing biomass in small- to medium-scale plants connected to local communities supports energy and materials production with zero or negative emissions, efficient waste management, and supports a circular economy. This decentralized approach, in industrial symbiosis with nearby industries, overcomes the limitation of large-scale centralized plants, which are often characterized by high resource consumption and environmental impact. The GICO project proposes an advanced, smart and flexible solution to convert a wide variety of biomass residues and excess renewable electricity into biofuel and on-demand power. The process integrates Hydrothermal Carbonization (HTC), Sorption-Enhanced Gasification (SEG), Plasma CO2 conversion, Methanol synthesis and Solid Oxide Fuel Cell technologies (SOFC). To assess the performance of the GICO concept, an energy analysis using Aspen Plus was conducted to identify, characterize and evaluate energy flows across all subsystems, providing insights into their influence on the overall process and allowing the optimization of the integrated plant., The results highlighted that HTC and Plasma CO2 conversion units are the most critical units due to their respective energy losses and consumption.

Keywords:

bioenergy, biorefinery, methanol, thermochemical conversion, agroindustrial residues, biomass to liquid (BtL)

Topic:

Biomass Conversion to Intermediate Bioenergy Carriers and Sustainable Biofuels

Subtopic:

Biofuels and synthetic fuels from biomass and hydrogen

Event:

33rd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition

Session:

5BV.6.27

Pages:

1006 - 1017

ISBN:

978-88-89407-25-7

Paper DOI:

10.5071/33rdEUBCE2025-5BV.6.27

Price:

FREE