Scale-Dependent Techno-Economic Analysis of CO2 Capture and Electroreduction to Ethylene

Théo Alerte; Adriana Gaona; Jonathan P. Edwards; Christine M. Gabardo; Colin P. O’Brien; Joshua Wicks; Loann Bonnenfant; Armin Sedighian Rasouli; Daniel Young; Jehad Abed; Luke Kershaw; Yurou Celine Xiao; Amitava Sarkar; Shaffiq A. Jaffer; Moritz W. Schreiber; David Sinton; Heather L. MacLean; Edward H. Sargent

doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c04373

Scale-Dependent Techno-Economic Analysis of CO₂ Capture and Electroreduction to Ethylene

Théo Alerte, Adriana Gaona, Jonathan P. Edwards, Christine M. Gabardo, Colin P. O’Brien, Joshua Wicks, Loann Bonnenfant, Armin Sedighian Rasouli, Daniel Young, Jehad Abed, Luke Kershaw, Yurou Celine Xiao, Amitava Sarkar, Shaffiq A. Jaffer, Moritz W. Schreiber, David Sinton^*, Heather L. MacLean^*, Edward H. Sargent^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Chemistry

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

The decarbonization of the chemical industry is essential to mitigate carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Ethylene (C₂H₄) is the highest production petrochemical globally. When powered by renewable electricity, the electrochemical conversion of CO₂ to C₂H₄ offers a promising route to low carbon C₂H₄ production. We perform a detailed techno-economic assessment (TEA) of the CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) process, converting CO₂ from an industrial point source to polymer-grade C₂H₄. We pair the CO₂ electrolyzer with industrially mature upstream and downstream separation technologies in an Aspen Plus model. This comprehensive approach enables us to assess the valorization of both gas and liquid byproduct streams at commercial specification and assess the viability of these processes as a function of scale. We demonstrate that a minimum plant size of ∼3,000 tonne C₂H₄/year is needed to achieve economies of scale among the upstream and downstream processes. This minimum plant size is ∼200-fold smaller than that of conventional C₂H₄ plants, coincides with that of typical utility-scale solar installations (∼25 MW), and could enable a more distributed model of chemical production going forward. We further highlight technical and economic enablers that would increase the profitability of the CO₂RR to C₂H₄ technology.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	15651-15662
Number of pages	12
Journal	ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering
Volume	11
Issue number	43
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c04373
State	Published - Oct 30 2023

Funding

The authors acknowledge financial support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), TotalEnegies SE [TotalEnergies Research & Technology Feluy (an affiliate of TotalEnergies SE, France)], and the Natural Resources Canada Clean Growth Program. D.S. gratefully acknowledges support from the Canada Research Chairs Program. The authors thank the XPRIZE foundation, NRG COSIA, and the Alberta Carbon Conversion Technology Center (ACCTC) for their support of carbon utilization technologies.

Keywords

Aspen Plus
CO electrolysis
CO electroreduction
decarbonization
distributed production
renewable electricity
techno-economic analysis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Chemistry
Environmental Chemistry
General Chemical Engineering
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c04373

Cite this

Alerte, T., Gaona, A., Edwards, J. P., Gabardo, C. M., O’Brien, C. P., Wicks, J., Bonnenfant, L., Rasouli, A. S., Young, D., Abed, J., Kershaw, L., Xiao, Y. C., Sarkar, A., Jaffer, S. A., Schreiber, M. W., Sinton, D., MacLean, H. L., & Sargent, E. H. (2023). Scale-Dependent Techno-Economic Analysis of CO₂ Capture and Electroreduction to Ethylene. ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 11(43), 15651-15662. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c04373

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abstract = "The decarbonization of the chemical industry is essential to mitigate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Ethylene (C2H4) is the highest production petrochemical globally. When powered by renewable electricity, the electrochemical conversion of CO2 to C2H4 offers a promising route to low carbon C2H4 production. We perform a detailed techno-economic assessment (TEA) of the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) process, converting CO2 from an industrial point source to polymer-grade C2H4. We pair the CO2 electrolyzer with industrially mature upstream and downstream separation technologies in an Aspen Plus model. This comprehensive approach enables us to assess the valorization of both gas and liquid byproduct streams at commercial specification and assess the viability of these processes as a function of scale. We demonstrate that a minimum plant size of ∼3,000 tonne C2H4/year is needed to achieve economies of scale among the upstream and downstream processes. This minimum plant size is ∼200-fold smaller than that of conventional C2H4 plants, coincides with that of typical utility-scale solar installations (∼25 MW), and could enable a more distributed model of chemical production going forward. We further highlight technical and economic enablers that would increase the profitability of the CO2RR to C2H4 technology.",

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author = "Th{\'e}o Alerte and Adriana Gaona and Edwards, {Jonathan P.} and Gabardo, {Christine M.} and O{\textquoteright}Brien, {Colin P.} and Joshua Wicks and Loann Bonnenfant and Rasouli, {Armin Sedighian} and Daniel Young and Jehad Abed and Luke Kershaw and Xiao, {Yurou Celine} and Amitava Sarkar and Jaffer, {Shaffiq A.} and Schreiber, {Moritz W.} and David Sinton and MacLean, {Heather L.} and Sargent, {Edward H.}",

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Alerte, T, Gaona, A, Edwards, JP, Gabardo, CM, O’Brien, CP, Wicks, J, Bonnenfant, L, Rasouli, AS, Young, D, Abed, J, Kershaw, L, Xiao, YC, Sarkar, A, Jaffer, SA, Schreiber, MW, Sinton, D, MacLean, HL & Sargent, EH 2023, 'Scale-Dependent Techno-Economic Analysis of CO₂ Capture and Electroreduction to Ethylene', ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, vol. 11, no. 43, pp. 15651-15662. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c04373

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T1 - Scale-Dependent Techno-Economic Analysis of CO2 Capture and Electroreduction to Ethylene

AU - Alerte, Théo

AU - Gaona, Adriana

AU - Edwards, Jonathan P.

AU - Gabardo, Christine M.

AU - O’Brien, Colin P.

AU - Wicks, Joshua

AU - Bonnenfant, Loann

AU - Rasouli, Armin Sedighian

AU - Young, Daniel

AU - Abed, Jehad

AU - Kershaw, Luke

AU - Xiao, Yurou Celine

AU - Sarkar, Amitava

AU - Jaffer, Shaffiq A.

AU - Schreiber, Moritz W.

AU - Sinton, David

AU - MacLean, Heather L.

AU - Sargent, Edward H.

PY - 2023/10/30

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N2 - The decarbonization of the chemical industry is essential to mitigate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Ethylene (C2H4) is the highest production petrochemical globally. When powered by renewable electricity, the electrochemical conversion of CO2 to C2H4 offers a promising route to low carbon C2H4 production. We perform a detailed techno-economic assessment (TEA) of the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) process, converting CO2 from an industrial point source to polymer-grade C2H4. We pair the CO2 electrolyzer with industrially mature upstream and downstream separation technologies in an Aspen Plus model. This comprehensive approach enables us to assess the valorization of both gas and liquid byproduct streams at commercial specification and assess the viability of these processes as a function of scale. We demonstrate that a minimum plant size of ∼3,000 tonne C2H4/year is needed to achieve economies of scale among the upstream and downstream processes. This minimum plant size is ∼200-fold smaller than that of conventional C2H4 plants, coincides with that of typical utility-scale solar installations (∼25 MW), and could enable a more distributed model of chemical production going forward. We further highlight technical and economic enablers that would increase the profitability of the CO2RR to C2H4 technology.

AB - The decarbonization of the chemical industry is essential to mitigate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Ethylene (C2H4) is the highest production petrochemical globally. When powered by renewable electricity, the electrochemical conversion of CO2 to C2H4 offers a promising route to low carbon C2H4 production. We perform a detailed techno-economic assessment (TEA) of the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) process, converting CO2 from an industrial point source to polymer-grade C2H4. We pair the CO2 electrolyzer with industrially mature upstream and downstream separation technologies in an Aspen Plus model. This comprehensive approach enables us to assess the valorization of both gas and liquid byproduct streams at commercial specification and assess the viability of these processes as a function of scale. We demonstrate that a minimum plant size of ∼3,000 tonne C2H4/year is needed to achieve economies of scale among the upstream and downstream processes. This minimum plant size is ∼200-fold smaller than that of conventional C2H4 plants, coincides with that of typical utility-scale solar installations (∼25 MW), and could enable a more distributed model of chemical production going forward. We further highlight technical and economic enablers that would increase the profitability of the CO2RR to C2H4 technology.

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KW - CO electroreduction

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KW - distributed production

KW - renewable electricity

KW - techno-economic analysis

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