Development and Integration of New Processes Consuming Carbon Dioxide in Multi-Plant Chemical Production Complexes

• Main Author: Indala, Sudheer
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2004
• Subjects: Carbon dioxide; Climate Change; Emissions; Ethanol; Greenhouse effect; Marketing; Natural gas; Product development
• ISBN: 9798819313060

New, energy-efficient and environmentally acceptable, catalytic processes have been identified that can use excess high purity CO2 as a raw material from the sources available in a chemical production complex. The chemical complex in the lower Mississippi River Corridor has been used to show how these new plants can be integrated into this existing infrastructure using the Chemical Complex and Cogeneration Analysis System.Eighty six published articles of laboratory and pilot plant experiments were reviewed that describe new methods and catalysts to use CO2 for producing commercially important products. Reactions have been categorized as hydrogenation reactions; hydrocarbon synthesis reactions; amine syntheses reactions; and hydrolysis reactions.A methodology for selecting the new energy-efficient processes was developed. The selection criteria included operating conditions, energy requirement for reactions, ΔH° and equilibrium conversion based on Gibbs free energy, ΔG°; and thermodynamic feasibility of the reactions, catalyst conversion and selectivity, cost and life, and methods to regenerate catalysts. Also included were demand and potential sales of products and market penetration. In addition, cost of raw materials, energy, environmental, sustainable and other manufacturing costs were evaluated along with hydrogen consumption for hydrogenation reactions.Based on the methodology, twenty processes were identified as candidates for new energy-efficient and environmentally acceptable plants. These were simulated using HYSYS, and a value added economic analysis was evaluated. From these, fourteen of the most promising were integrated in the superstructure.A base case of existing plants in a chemical complex in the lower Mississippi River Corridor was developed that included thirteen multiple plant production units plus associated utilities for power, steam and cooling water and facilities for waste treatment. The System was used with the base case and new plants for CO2, and an optimal configuration of plants was determined for three different case studies.These results illustrated the capability of the System to select an optimum configuration of plants in a chemical complex and incorporate economic, environmental and sustainable costs. The System has been developed by industry-university collaboration, and is available from the LSU Minerals Processing Research Institute’s web site www.mpri.lsu.edu at no charge.