Comparative Techno-economic Analysis Research Articles

Evaluating the Potential of Hydrogen Production from Agricultural Waste in Indonesia: A Comparative Techno-economic Analysis

Hydrogen production from agricultural waste is a potentially established industry in Indonesia, and the government aims to introduce innovative technologies to produce hydrogen. This study aimed to explore the feasibility of hydrogen production from agricultural waste using three different methods: SCWG, fermentation, and gasification. The analysis focuses on comparing the price of hydrogen as a product by setting the same value of the IRR at 30%. The simulation was conducted by analyzing the capacity of hydrogen production at 3650 tons/year. The results of this study demonstrate that fermentation is the most feasible technology for producing hydrogen from agricultural wastes in Indonesia. In this technology, the price of hydrogen obtained was $5.65/kg, with a total capital investment (TCI) and production cost (TPC) of $10,756,132.97 and $13,977,351.97, respectively. Based on this simulation, the other parameter values, including NPV, ROI, and PoT, were $15,387,688.72, 68%, and 2.27 years, respectively. These results indicate that the establishment of hydrogen production in Indonesia using fermentation technology and agricultural waste is economically viable.

Comparative techno-economic analyses and optimization of standalone and grid-tied renewable energy systems for South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

This study evaluates the economic, technical, and environmental performance of stand-alone and grid-tied HRES in Khiriya Bharka, India; Thayet Township, Myanmar; Lower Manya Krobo, Ghana; and Mamfe, Cameroon, considering different regional solar radiation, wind speed diversity, and climate. The HRES are designed and modeled using the Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources software (HOMER PRO) to meet consumers' daily loads in the selected places. The analysis results are compared considering the levelized cost of energy (LCOE), net present cost (NPC), greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, renewable fraction (RF), and optimum system configuration. The optimal system configurations are the combination of PV-WT-DG-BAT-CON for grid-tied and stand-alone HRES in India, Ghana, and Cameroon, respectively, and the best configuration for Thayet Township, Myanmar, is WT-DG-BAT-CON. The LCOE of the considered places without grid connection is $0.127/kWh, $0.145/kWh, $0.174/kWh, and $0.143/kWh, respectively. The LCOE of grid-tied HRES is 0.026$/kWh, 0.0286$/kWh, 0.01$/kWh, and 0.0281$/kWh for Khiriya Bharka, Thayet Township, Lower Manya Krobo, and Mamfe, respectively. This research can be useful for planning grid-tied and stand-alone HRES between Asia and African countries by comparing grid-tied and stand-alone HRES to determine the optimum system configuration and finding the best optimization results under different climate conditions. These results are further validated by finding loss of power supply probability (LPSP) and LCOE using particle swarm optimization (PSO). To better inform policymakers and stakeholders in various regions, this research aims to assess and compare renewable energy solutions in terms of their feasibility, cost-effectiveness, environmental impact, and sustainability across a range of geographical, social, and economic contexts.

On the performance of cryogenic technology in milling of hardened H13 tool steel.

Cryogenic machining gained interest as a clean, and effective cooling technique for machining hard-to-cut materials. Hardened H13 steel is widely used in tool and die applications due to its superior properties at high temperatures. However, its low machinability and post machining tensile residual stress remains a major challenge. A comparative techno-economic and environmental analysis was performed to evaluate the performance of cryogenic and flood machining of H13. Process simulation was performed to select the optimum cutting conditions. Cryogenic showed significant improvement in the overall process productivity, part integrity, tool life and environmental performance as compared to flood.

Green vs fossil-based energy vectors: A comparative techno-economic analysis of green ammonia and LNG value chains

This study conducts a comparative techno-economic assessment on the value chains of ammonia, as a green energy vector, and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), representing the benchmark energy vector, for long-distance energy transportation from Middle East to Europe. The value chain involves production from resources, conversion to an energy vector, storage and transport and reconversion of the energy vector to a suitable fuel. For comparison purposes, an electric power output of 400 MW is assumed to be produced by a power plant that utilizes either green or fossil fuels delivered to it. The adopted parameter for this comparison is the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCoE). Greenhouse gas emissions are economically penalized through the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC). Considering a SCC of 0.100 €/kg, the LCoE of the LNG value chain is 59.19 €/MWh, while that of ammonia is 231.71 €/MWh. Since the cost of producing green hydrogen and purified natural gas strongly affects the results, a sensitivity analysis is performed to assess the impact of the assumed values. The SCC required to break even the LCoE of the two value chains is: 0.183 €/MWh when considering the most favorable scenario for the green energy vector (low green hydrogen and high purified natural gas production costs) and 1.731 €/kg when considering the most unfavorable one. This study highlights the cost-effectiveness of LNG in the current economic and regulatory landscape. However, the break-even range for the SCC indicates the potential for green ammonia to gain economic viability under higher carbon pricing scenarios.

Concentrate circularity: A comparative techno-economic analysis of membrane distillation and conventional inland concentrate management technologies

Inland desalination with reverse osmosis (RO) offers a promising alternative to increase potable water resources. However, large volumes of concentrated brine are generated as a byproduct of the process. Concentrate disposal for inland regions displaces valuable water resources and can make up to 33 % of the total cost of desalination. Conventional disposal systems are limited by location, hydrogeology, climate, and policies, and few place value on resource recovery, thus limiting the implementation of desalination facilities in water-stressed regions. Membrane distillation (MD) is an alternative technology that can minimize disposal volume while maximizing water recovery for beneficial reuse. MD uses thermal energy gradients to desalinate the concentrate stream achieving near zero-liquid discharge. Furthermore, several MD configurations include heat recovery, making MD an energy-efficient alternative. A techno-economic assessment (TEA) of air-gap MD (AGMD) for RO concentrate management was performed and compared to three conventional concentrate management systems: evaporation ponds, deep-well injection (DWI), and concentration-crystallization. TEA results indicate that compared to DWI at 1.09 $/m3, evaporation ponds at 1.47 $/m3, and concentrators at 6.2 $/m3, respectively, AGMD is a competitive concentrate management technology producing water at 0.90 $/m3 when operating conditions are optimized and low-grade heat is available. When operating at high salinity (>70 g/L) the selection of operating conditions, specifically module length and circulating flowrate, is critical. Results of this study support the economic viability of AGMD in contrast to current industry standards and highlight the importance of resource recovery to promote a circular water-energy economy for regions relying on reuse and desalination.

Comparative techno-economic and life cycle analyses of synthetic “drop-in” fuel production from UK wet biomass

Renewable synthetic hydrocarbon “drop-in” fuels can help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from transport, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors like freight and aviation. However, no study has extensively addressed the concerns over biomass availability, cost viability, and CO2 reduction feasibility that are associated with diverse production configurations and feedstocks. Here, we report detailed techno-economics and life cycle greenhouse gas emission assessments of drop-in fuel productions via hydrothermal liquefaction to assess their economic viabilities, CO2 mitigation potentials, and prospects for scale-up specifically within the UK context. Our approach integrates key production factors which include regional availability of main feedstocks (digestates, food waste, biodegradable municipal waste, and sewage sludge), plant configurations (centralised vs decentralised) and hydrogen sources (grey, blue, green). We demonstrated the economic trade-off between economy-of-scale and feedstock transport distances in the centralised/decentralised configurations, and also the economic and emissions trade-offs associated with the use of different hydrogen sources. We find that co-processing of different waste feedstocks is an important strategy to minimise fuel selling price by enabling better economy of scale and feedstock transport, resulting in a fuel selling price of £14.76 – 20.30 per GJ. The corresponding greenhouse gas emissions from the co-processing case vary from 11.4 to 24.9 kgCO2eqperGJ for 2021, based on the consequential life cycle assessment approach. Furthermore, we estimated that the utilisation of key UK wet feedstocks could only provide 4.5 % of current fuel consumptions and reduce emissions by 4.5–5.4 Mt CO2eq/year, which translates to 3.4–4.0 % reduction in the UK’s 2021 transport emissions.

Comparative Techno-economic Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Producing High-Value Chemicals and Fuels from Waste Plastic via Conventional Pyrolysis and Thermal Oxo-degradation

Comparative Techno-economic Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Producing High-Value Chemicals and Fuels from Waste Plastic via Conventional Pyrolysis and Thermal Oxo-degradation

Comparative techno-economic analysis of CO2 capture processes using blended amines

Blended amines synthesize the absorption characteristics of different amine solvents and show a great potential in carbon capture. However, a comprehensive techno-economic analysis (TEA) of the CO2 absorption process using blended amines is still lacking. In this study, we investigated three blended amine solvents: MEA/MDEA, PZ/MEA, and PZ/MDEA, with commercially available amine MEA used as the benchmark. Rigorous process simulation and techno-economic analysis were applied to evaluate the performance of the carbon capture process in a steel plant. CO2 molar loading in the lean solvent (αlean) and stripper pressure (P) were optimized to minimize the total annualized cost (TAC). The results demonstrated that PZ/MDEA-based process is most cost-effective (31.43$/tCO2) under the operating conditions of αlean = 0.15 and P = 1.25 bar. The cost breakdown analysis revealed that αlean and P significantly impact the TAC through the regeneration heat, equipment investment, and amines make-up cost. Furthermore, the energy analysis indicated that using a solvent with a low reaction enthalpy and heat capacity as well as high reactivity and absorption capacity could minimize the energy consumption of the process.

Solar-Driven Upgrading of Biomass by Coupled Hydrogenation Using in Situ Photoelectrochemically Generated H2

Green H2 has been recognized as an important element in efforts to decarbonize our fossil fuel-dependent society. One approach to produce green H2 is solar water splitting in a photoelectrochemical (PEC) device. Solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiencies of up to 30% have been demonstrated1 but studies have shown that this approach still results in a relatively high levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) of ~10 US$ per kg of H2.2-3 This is ca. one order of magnitude higher than that of hydrogen produced via steam methane reforming (SMR), which forms the bulk of the currently produced H2. A possible solution is to incorporate an upgrading process of biomass feedstock that generates valuable chemicals into the solar water splitting device. This is expected to not only decrease the overall LCOH but also introduce an alternative renewable pathway in chemical manufacturing. In this study, we propose the concept of solar-driven hydrogenation of biomass-derived feedstock. Photoelectrochemically generated H2 in our solar water splitting device is coupled in situ with the homogenously catalyzed hydrogenation of itaconic acid (IA) to methyl succinic acid (MSA). IA has been identified by the US Department of Energy as one of the twelve building blocks that possess the potential to be transformed subsequently into several high-value bio-based chemicals or materials.4 MSA is a valuable chemical compound with an estimated global market size of up to ~15,000 tonnes, whose derivatives are ubiquitously used as solvents in cosmetics,5 polymer synthesis,6 binders in powder coatings,7 and organic synthesis, especially for pharmaceutical synthesis.8-9 Our coupled hydrogenation approach—performed in the PV-electrolyzer and PEC configurations using III-V PV cells and BiVO4-based photoelectrode, respectively—successfully demonstrate solar-driven H2-to-MSA conversion efficiencies as high as 60%. In comparison to the non-coupled approach (i.e., direct hydrogenation), our coupled system offers synergistic benefits in terms of prolonged durability and a higher degree of flexibility toward other important chemical transformation reactions. In addition, life-cycle net energy assessment and technoeconomic analysis results show that adding the coupled hydrogenation process significantly lowers the energy payback time and the LCOH, respectively, to a point that is competitive even with SMR-produced H2. Further implications and optimization potentials of the coupled PEC hydrogenation approach will be discussed. References Kim, J. H.; Hansora, D.; Sharma, P.; Jang, J.-W.; Lee, J. S., Toward practical solar hydrogen production – an artificial photosynthetic leaf-to-farm challenge. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2019, 48 (7), 1908-1971.Shaner, M. R.; Atwater, H. A.; Lewis, N. S.; McFarland, E. W., A comparative technoeconomic analysis of renewable hydrogen production using solar energy. Energy Environ. Sci. 2016, 9 (7), 2354-2371.Pinaud, B. A.; Benck, J. D.; Seitz, L. C.; Forman, A. J.; Chen, Z.; Deutsch, T. G.; James, B. D.; Baum, K. N.; Baum, G. N.; Ardo, S.; Wang, H.; Miller, E.; Jaramillo, T. F., Technical and economic feasibility of centralized facilities for solar hydrogen production via photocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry. Energy Environ. Sci. 2013, 6 (7), 1983-2002.Werpy, T.; Petersen, G. Top value added chemicals from biomass: volume I--results of screening for potential candidates from sugars and synthesis gas; National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (US): 2004.Richard, H.; Muller, B. Use of a 2-methylsuccinic acid diester derivative as solvent in cosmetic compositions; cosmetic compositions containing the same. WO2012119861A3, 2012.Verduyckt, J.; De Vos, D. Method for the production of methylsuccinic acid and the anhydride thereof from citric acid. WO2018065475A1, 2017.Mijolovic, D.; Szarka, Z. J.; Heimann, J.; Garnier, S. Powder coating useful as a coating agent, and for coating metallic- and non-metallic surfaces, comprises a binder comprising methyl succinic acid. DE102011080722A1, 2012.Okabe, M.; Lies, D.; Kanamasa, S.; Park, E. Y., Biotechnological production of itaconic acid and its biosynthesis in Aspergillus terreus. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2009, 84 (4), 597-606.Willke, T.; Vorlop, K.-D., Biotechnological production of itaconic acid. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2001, 56 (3), 289-295.

Ammonia-fed fuel cells for a locally CO2-free energy supply in the telecommunications industry - A comparative techno-economic analysis

In view of the need for accelerated progress in climate protection, the telecommunications industry is increasingly confronted with the requirement to develop and deploy climate-neutral infrastructure. Particularly with regard to off-grid operation and back-up power supply of cell towers, locally CO2 emission-free energy supply concepts that are sustainable and feasible in the short term are required. With the ammonia fuel cell system, a possible concept is currently coming into focus. However, despite its potential importance, ammonia-fed fuel cell systems powered by green ammonia have not yet been investigated in comparative studies. Consequently, its technical and economic characteristics, and its relative position among alternative renewable energy generation options, remain largely unclear. The aim of this study is therefore to describe the techno-economic characteristics of an ammonia-fed fuel cell system and to compare them with other renewable energy generation options.The technology comparison shows that for the ammonia-fed fuel cell system, due to its early applied development stage, further cost degression potentials still need to be exploited in order to be competitive with alternative systems. In particular, the currently short product lifetimes of ammonia crackers and alkaline fuel cell stacks lead to high replacement costs. However, off-grid use under unfavorable solar and wind conditions as well as at sites with limited space for renewable energy systems may be a promising application for the future. Further monitoring of the technical and economic development of the system would be appropriate since significant progress can be expected in the foreseeable future.

Lignocellulosic biomass pre-treatments by diluted sulfuric acid and ethanol-water mixture: A comparative techno-economic analysis

A techno-economic study of different pretreatments of lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) has been carried out: diluted sulfuric acid (DSA) pretreatment, fractionation of LCB with an ethanol-water mixture (EW), and the same process with liquor reuse (EWR). A simplified analysis was performed considering selected equipment, utilities, and supplies consumption, while also considering the influence of the liquid to solid (L/S) ratio. The equipment cost was found to be similar for the three alternatives, although selected operating costs were somewhat lower for the DSA pretreatment than for the EW. When liquor reuse was considered, EWR costs were significantly reduced. For the case study of L/S of 10, costs were halved under the tested conditions. The influence of the L/S ratio was found to be approximately linear, and correlations were obtained to estimate steam and utilities consumption for different L/S ratios.

Comparative techno-economic analysis of various stand-alone and grid connected (solar/wind/fuel cell) renewable energy systems

This article proposes a hybrid energy model comprising of various stand-alone and grid-connected energy systems including grid-connected hybrid, off-grid hybrid, fuel cell-photovoltaic, fuel cell-wind turbine, photovoltaic-wind turbine, wind turbine, and photovoltaic to fulfill the power requirements of an educational institute in Pakistan. These systems have been developed, simulated, and optimized for techno-economic feasibility, taking into consideration the electricity demand profile, geographic regions, and climatic data. A sensitivity analysis has been conducted to determine the most economical systems for producing 0.90079 MWh of energy per day. Simulation results show that the net present cost of the grid-connected hybrid system is between M$ 1.536859 and M$ 6.818162, while the cost of energy is between $ 0.155 and $ 0.3749 per kWh. The fuel cell -wind turbine system incurs a maximum energy cost of $ 0.3749/kWh. The solar and grid-connected hybrid systems offers the lowest net present cost and cost of energy, which are M$ 1.536859 and $ 0.155/kWh, respectively. The research findings suggest that utilizing photovoltaic, wind, and fuel cells is a more feasible and economical strategy due to system benefits. The study also showed the viability and efficiency of using solar and wind resources for hydrogen production and power generation. Additionally, the study demonstrated that hydrogen is a more affordable option for long-term energy storage than batteries.

Comparative techno-economic analysis of large-scale renewable energy storage technologies

Energy storage is an effective way to address the instability of renewable energy generation modes, such as wind and solar, which are projected to play an important role in the sustainable and low-carbon society. Economics and carbon emissions are important indicators that should be thoroughly considered for evaluating the feasibility of energy storage technologies (ESTs). In this study, we study two promising routes for large-scale renewable energy storage, electrochemical energy storage (EES) and hydrogen energy storage (HES), via technical analysis of the ESTs. The levelized cost of storage (LCOS), carbon emissions and uncertainty assessments for EESs and HESs over the life cycle are conducted with full consideration of the critical links for these routes. In order to reduce the evaluation error, we use the Monte Carlo method to derive a large number of data for estimating the economy and carbon emission level of ESTs based on the collected data. The results show that lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries show the lowest LCOS and carbon emissions, at 0.314 US$ kWh-1 and 72.76 gCO2e kWh-1, compared with other batteries for EES. Different HES routes, meaning different combinations of hydrogen production, delivery and refueling methods, show substantial differences in economics, and the lowest LCOS and carbon emissions, at 0.227 US$ kWh-1 and 61.63 gCO2e kWh-1, are achieved using HES routes that involve hydrogen production by alkaline electrolyzer (AE), delivery by hydrogen pipeline and corresponding refueling. The findings of this study suggest that HES and EES have comparable levels of economics and carbon emissions that should be both considered for large-scale renewable energy storage to achieve future decarbonization goals.

Comparative techno-economic analysis of the integration of MEA-based scrubbing and silica PEI adsorbent-based CO2 capture processes into cement plants

The objective of this work was to perform the techno-economic analysis for the integration of two post-combustion carbon capture technologies into cement plants, namely monoethanolamine (MEA) scrubbing-based and silica-alkoxylated polyethyleneimine (SPEI) adsorbent-based processes. The key performance indicators were investigated, including emission abatement, energy performance, break-even selling price, CO2 capture and avoidance cost. The technical evaluation showed that the conventional MEA and SPEI-based processes required 3.53 GJ/tonne CO2 and 2.36 GJ/tonne CO2 of regeneration energy when achieving 90% of CO2 capture rate, respectively. In addition, the specific primary energy consumption for CO2 avoided was estimated at 6.5 GJ/tonne CO2 for the MEA-based and 4.3 GJ/tonne CO2 for the SPEI-based process. The CO2 capture costs of MEA and SPEI-based processes were estimated at 61.4 and 49.8 €/tonne CO2, respectively. Meanwhile, the CO2 avoidance cost of MEA and SPEI processes were estimated at 84.7 and 62.2 €/tonne CO2 respectively. The economic evaluation indicated that the cost of clinker production was increased by 108% with the integration of the solvent-based MEA-based and 84% for the SPEI-based processes. However, in the case, the maximum heat of 53.9 MWth is recovered from the reference cement plant, the costs of CO2 capture and CO2 avoidance for both the MEA and SPEI-based processes would be reduced. The CO2 capture costs of MEA and SPEI-based processes would decrease to 48.0 and 35.6 €/tonne CO2, respectively. Additionally, the CO2 avoidance costs for the MEA and SPEI-based processes would be reduced to 57.5 and 44.5 €/tonne CO2, respectively.

A comparative techno-economic analysis of combined oil and power production from pyrolysis and co-pyrolysis plants utilizing rice straw and scrap rubber tires

In this study, three pyrolysis and co-pyrolysis plants processing rice straw (RS) and scrap rubber tire (SRT) to produce oil and power (i.e., electricity) at 30 t/hr capacity are simulated using SuperPro Designer software. The objective of the study is to comparatively evaluate the techno-economic performance of hypothetical (co-)pyrolysis plants at commercial scale. The RS production is estimated in 36 districts of Punjab, Pakistan through GIS mapping and the location and capacity of the plants are selected accordingly. The RS plant has the lowest capital and annual operating costs of $53.70 million and $43.70 million, respectively however, it is not economically feasible under current conditions due to its low quantity and quality of the produced oil. The base cases of SRT and co-feed (RS and SRT) plants are found to be viable with capital costs of $66.90 million and $68.30 million, and annual operating costs of $77.20 million and $70.30 million respectively. The co-pyrolysis plant produces the highest oil (main product) yield of 74 kilotons annually and power of 4801 KWe with the lowest unit production cost of $950/tonne. Consequently, the co-pyrolysis plant offers the highest economic performance with $35.55 million of net present value (NPV) estimated at a discount rate of 15% over 20 years of plant life. The payback period (PBT), internal rate of return (IRR) and gross margin (GM) are 5.08 years, 34.67% and 21.35% respectively. Sensitivity analysis suggests that the NPV is sensitive to the oil selling price, feedstock cost, and capital investment for all plants. Moreover, economy of scale analysis quantified the effects of different processing capacities on the economic metrics such as NPV, PBT, capital cost, and operating cost.

Pre-cooling systems for hydrogen fueling stations: Techno-economic analysis for scaled enactment

Hydrogen fueling standards stipulates a sustainable cooling system technically and economically. Accordingly, the interior surface temperature of the on-board H2 storage tank in fuel cell electric vehicles must not exceed the maximum specified limit (358.15 K), and the fueling rate must be ≤ 42.86 sec / kg-H2, with T40 dispenser at 70 MPa. In this context, H2 refueling stations often employ double-tube and block heat exchangers for heat transfer. This study examines the H2 pre-cooling system for various loads and provides a comparative techno-economic analysis of double tube heat exchangers (DTHE) and microchannel heat exchangers (MCHE) under stipulated technical, operational, and outlet gas standards. For this purpose, thermal and hydraulic performances were simulated using ANSYS-CFX. Technical and cost models utilize manufacturer specifications and literature-based technical and economic characteristics to derive the minimum sustainable price, defined as the price to sustain the product. The results showed that the MCHE outperformed the DTHE for setups in mass manufacturing, improved effective heat transfer area, and predicted long term unit cost. The annual quantitative output affects manufacturing expenses and profit margins substantially. With high production rates, it is expected that the unit cost of the MCHE will decrease by up to 74%. In switching from DTHE to MCHE, general material requirements decreased by ∼60%, with scrap waste savings of ∼45% reflecting an appreciable footprint reduction.

Comparative techno-economic and environmental analysis of a new CO2 to diethyl carbonate production process

Direct conversion of CO2 to dialkyl carbonates such as diethyl carbonate (DEC) can contribute to mitigate CO2 emissions. We previously proposed a new DEC synthesis method from the reaction of CO2 and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), an expensive functional chemical. After being used for DEC synthesis, TEOS can be regenerated from reaction of ethanol and hexaethoxy disiloxane (DS), the byproduct produced along with DEC. However, TEOS regeneration requires several processing units and high energy demand. In this study, we designed and evaluated feasibility of this new DEC synthesis process. Based on data obtained from lab experiments, the entire process, which comprised DEC synthesis and TEOS regeneration sections, was designed and optimized using process simulator Pro/II. Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment method was applied to comprehensively evaluate the total CO2 emissions caused by the consumption of raw materials and utilities in DEC synthesis and TEOS regeneration sections. In addition, the total production cost was evaluated. On the basis of the evaluation results, process hotspots were identified. Optimal conditions used for TEOS regeneration (ethanol/DS = 18.2) were proposed to improve total process performances. The total production cost and CO2 emissions are 1.7 $/kg DEC, 3.6 kg CO2/kg DEC, respectively. The new process was compared to the most commonly used process which synthesizes DEC from the reaction of CO2 with ethanol, assisted by the dehydrating agent 2-cyanopyridine. Our results show that the new DEC synthesis process gains higher economic and environmental viability.

Comparative techno-economic and energy analyses of integrated biorefinery processes of furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from biomass residue

For efficient feedstock and energy utilization, integrated biorefinery processes are applied to furfural production from bagasse to convert furfural residue into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF)—an important intermediate building block for the production of various biochemicals. Here, a techno-economic analysis of the integrated processes of furfural and HMF production combined with electricity generation under different scenarios was performed to identify the most suitable process design. Simulations revealed that using the whole bagasse in the biorefinery plant and recycling 50% waste from the HMF production to recover unreacted sugar (scenario 2) achieved the maximum furfural and HMF production with minimum CO2 emission, compared with integrated processes without sugar recycling (scenario 1), with 80% (scenario 3) and 60% biomass (scenario 4) bypassed to the biorefinery, and with a standalone combined heat and power system (scenario 5). Moreover, heat integration improved the efficiency of biorefinery plant (scenario 2), with an energy recovery potential of 71%, leading to the maximum profit at 11% internal rate of return. However, the high operating cost associated with the requirement of solvents and catalysts for HMF production represents the largest cost distribution in the proposed integrated processes. Sensitivity analysis revealed that solvent cost was the most important parameter for economic benefit. In addition, improving technological efficiency in the pretreatment and HMF production phases can enhance product yield, thereby benefiting the profitability of this process.

Comparative techno-economic and life-cycle analysis of precious versus non-precious metal electrocatalysts: the case of PEM fuel cell cathodes

Fe–N–C catalyst production outperforms Pt/C from an enviro-economic viewpoint, but further Fe–N–C activity development is required before deployment in PEMFCs.

Comparative techno-economic analysis of different PV-assisted direct solar hydrogen generation systems

This work provides a robust technoeconomic analysis of a range of direct solar hydrogen generation (DSHG) systems to understand the opportunities and challenges of deploying DSHG to reduce the cost of renewable hydrogen production.