Sustainable development and multi-aspect analysis of a novel polygeneration system using biogas upgrading and LNG regasification processes, producing power, heating, fresh water and liquid CO2

Abstract

Considering biogas upgrading to feed energy systems and its significant impact on the biogas energy density, a novel polygeneration system utilizing biogas from landfill waste is designed, simulated, and studied in this paper. The primary innovation is to design a biogas upgrading technology for a novel multigeneration system using a thermal matching approach. This system is capable of simultaneously generating power, providing heating, producing fresh water, and extracting liquid carbon dioxide in an environmentally sustainable manner, thus resulting in reduced environmental impacts. For this purpose, a cryogenic separation system based on liquefied natural gas cold utilization is employed for biogas upgrading and biomethane separation. The proposed process also consists of a Kalina cycle, an organic Rankine cycle, a multi-effect desalination technology, and a heating provider unit. This system is simulated within the Aspen HYSYS software and is undergone a comprehensive analysis from the viewpoints of energy, exergy, environmental, and economic. The results indicate that the proposed structure achieves energy and exergy efficiencies of 80.91% and 43.76%, respectively. Environmental assessment reveals that the emission intensity is 90.43% lower in polygeneration mode compared to power generation mode, and the system’s net emission is equal to 23,041.51 kg/h. The economic evaluation demonstrates that the total unit cost of products is minimized in polygeneration operation (1.84 $/GJ), while it is highest in power generation condition (7.564 $/GJ). The investigations show that when a system is modified from a single generation to polygeneration, all thermodynamic, economic, and environmental indicators face an improvement.