Environmental impact analysis of steelmaking off-gases on methanol production

Dongseong Kang, Jaewon Byun and Jee-hoon Han

Energy, 2023, vol. 277, issue C

Abstract: Recently, steelmaking off-gases generated in the steel industry have been utilized for onsite energy generation. However, these gases have low calorific values that raise their recovery costs and limit their use in refining and separation technology. In contrast, if the large amounts of carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and methane in off-gases can be recovered through refining, high value-added products such as chemical products and renewable fuels can be produced while reducing greenhouse gases. In this study, a large-scale process was designed to produce methanol (MeOH) from coke oven gas (COG), which has a higher calorific value than many steelmaking off-gases, and Linz–Donawitz gas (LDG) as a supplementary carbon source. The COG-only strategy (strategy 1) and the COG + LDG strategy (strategy 2) quantified and compared environmental impacts with coal-based energy generation. The MeOH production process was designed to maximize production of MeOH by considering reaction kinetics, and optimal ratio of COG and LDG in the strategy 2 was also analyzed. The environmental feasibility of the proposed strategies is evaluated in a life cycle assessment (LCA) defined by a “cradle-to-gate” system boundary. Strategy 2 showed mostly improved results (13–62%) compared to strategy 1 in terms of environmental impact along with electricity production. This result shows that utilization of CO in LDG as a carbon source could improve environmental feasibility of off-gas utilization. The sensitivity analysis showed that the energy source has large impact on the environmental feasibility for all impact categories, and the impact is maximized in the energy intensive process.

Keywords: Methanol; Life cycle assessment; Carbon capture and utilization; Process development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:277:y:2023:i:c:s0360544223009970

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2023.127603

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