Optimization of biomass-to-methanol production pathways using P-graph approach

Area of Science:

• Biomass valorization
• Sustainable chemistry
• Process optimization

Background:

• Agricultural and food production generate significant biomass waste.
• Biomass is a sustainable feedstock for the chemical industry, particularly for methanol production.
• Limited research exists on optimizing biomass-to-methanol pathways considering technological uncertainties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically plan and optimize biomass-to-methanol production pathways.
• To identify cost-effective and environmentally sustainable routes for green methanol production.
• To evaluate the economic and environmental trade-offs of different conversion technologies.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the P-graph framework for pathway optimization.
• Employed Design of Experiments (DoE) to select 25 representative scenarios.
• Analyzed economic costs and CO2 emissions for various pathways.

Main Results:

• Anaerobic digestion (AD) pathway offers the lowest production cost ($725/t MeOH) but higher CO2 emissions (1.340 t CO2/t MeOH).
• Gasification pathway achieves the lowest CO2 emissions (0.513 t CO2/t MeOH) at a higher cost ($805/t MeOH).
• Hybrid pathways show potential to outperform standalone options under specific conditions.

Conclusions:

• The study identifies economically viable and environmentally conscious biomass-to-methanol pathways.
• Findings provide crucial insights for decision-making in green methanol production.
• Balancing cost-effectiveness and environmental impact is key for sustainable biomass valorization.