6 Search Results

Demand for critical materials (nickel, cobalt, manganese [NCM], and lithium) for use in batteries is increasing rapidly due to the expansion of the battery-electric vehicles market. Battery metal recycling (BMR) is an important technology that can potentially realize environmental and economic benefits in cathode active material (LiNi_xMn_yCo_zO₂) production using recycled materials. While current major battery recycling technologies recover cathode materials (NCM) and other metals (steel, aluminum, copper, etc.) from the spent battery, the lithium (Li) recovery rate is less than 1% in the world. In this study, we analyze the environmental benefits of a BMR process that recovers lithium inmore » the form of lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LiOH∙H₂O) along with other cathode materials. Using life-cycle analysis (LCA), we evaluate the life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, criteria air pollutant emissions, and water consumption of the new BMR technology in terms of lithium hydroxide production and cathode active material production. The LCA results show that the life-cycle GHG emissions recycled LiOH are 37–72% lower than those of virgin LiOH production from Chilean brine and Australian ore, respectively. In addition, the life-cycle GHG emissions of NCM811 produced using the recycled materials are 40–48% lower compared to virgin cathode active material production. Furthermore, recovering lithium from the spent batteries reduces associated air pollutant emissions and water consumption relative to using the virgin materials or materials from other recycling technologies without LiOH recovery.« less

Electro-fuels (e-fuels) are examples of carbon capture and utilization (CCU) hydrocarbon products that are derived from captured carbon dioxide (CO₂), while using renewable electricity as the energy feedstock. The environmental impacts of CCU products (e.g., e-fuel) are systematically quantified through life-cycle analysis (LCA). Previous studies evaluating LCA of e-fuels proposed frameworks with an expanded system boundary approach that included the entire supply chain of the production process generating the CO₂ for CCU, in addition to the supply chain of the CCU product. This expanded system boundary approach evaluates two system boundaries, and uses deduction methods to calculate the carbon intensitymore » (CI) of the CCU product (e-fuel). This paper proposes a simpler system boundary using an incremental approach that can calculate identical CI of the CCU product (e-fuel), while avoiding the extensive calculations in the expanded system boundary framework. The proposed incremental approach allocates the burdens of the CO₂ capturing process to the CO₂ feedstock supplying the CCU production process (e.g., e-fuel production). The CI of the captured CO₂ supplied to CCU process is determined by the energy and material requirements for the CO₂ capturing process and transportation to the CCU plant. Thus, the CI of CO₂ supplied to CCU process can be directly linked to the CI of e-fuel without the need to conduct LCA of the preceding process that generates the CO₂ for CCU.« less

Ethanol to middle distillates (ETMD) is a promising pathway to produce sustainable liquid fuels to decarbonize the hard-to-electrify transportation sectors due to (1) the abundant sugar/starch and lignocellulosic biomass, (2) the existing deployment scale of fuel ethanol production (~29 billion gallons per year globally), and (3) emerging opportunities in C₂₊ alcohol synthesis from CO₂. Here we report a conceptual market-responsive biorefinery centered around a new ETMD pathway based on one-step ethanol to butene-rich olefins (ETO) over a Cu–Zn–Y/Beta catalyst. Specifically, this ethanol conversion pathway comprises one-step ETO, oligomerization, and hydrotreating. This ETO is distinct from that in the conventional ethanol-to-jetmore » process which is based on two-step ethanol to ethylene and ethylene oligomerization to butenes. Butene-rich olefins can be shifted to butadiene-rich products by simply changing the reaction atmosphere from hydrogen to inert gas over the same ETO catalyst. Leveraging the experimental results, baseline techno-economic analysis (TEA) and sensitivity analysis indicate that the ethanol conversion cost is 0.60 dollars per gallon gasoline equivalent (GGE), with opportunities for further cost reduction via improving the liquid hydrocarbon yield and space velocities, and process optimization on balancing dewatering of ethanol feed prior to the ETO step. Additionally, the minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) of liquid hydrocarbons derived from corn starch ethanol with butadiene as coproduct is 1.64 dollars per GGE, in the range that is cost competitive with petroleum kerosene-type jet fuel. Projected MFSP for cellulosic ethanol (corn stover) derived hydrocarbons is below 3.00 dollars per GGE and co-production of butadiene further reduces the MFSP to 1.70 dollars per GGE. The Well-to-Wake life-cycle analysis indicates that 85% greenhouse gas emission reduction can be achieved when using corn stover compared to petroleum reference and the associated carbon credits will provide significant economic incentives to favor the cellulosic ethanol-derived hydrocarbon fuels. This study demonstrates a low-cost pathway to middle distillate fuels leveraging existing ethanol infrastructure, where catalysis innovation drives the reduction of process complexity and flexible coproduction of a value-added chemical product.« less

Captured CO₂ is a potential feedstock to produce fuel/chemicals using renewable electricity as the energy source. In this study, we explored resource availability and synergies by region in the United States and conducted cost and environmental analysis to identify unique opportunities in each region to inform possible regional and national actions for carbon capture and utilization development. This study estimated production cost of synthetic methanol and Fischer–Tropsch (FT) fuels by using CO₂ captured from the waste streams emitted from six industrial [ethanol, ammonia, natural gas (NG) processing, hydrogen, cement, and iron/steel production plants] and two power generation (coal and NG)more » processes across the United States. The results showed that a total of 1594 million metric ton per year of waste CO₂ can be captured and converted into 85 and 319 billion gallons of FT fuels and methanol, respectively. FT fuels can potentially substitute for 36% of the total petroleum fuels used in the transportation sector in 2018. Technoeconomic analysis shows that the minimum selling prices for synthetic FT fuels and methanol are 1.8–2.8 times the price of petroleum fuel/chemicals, but the total CO₂ reduction potential is 935–1777 MMT/year.« less

Abstract Corn ethanol plants generate high‐purity carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) while producing ethanol. If that CO ₂ could be converted into ethanol by carbon capture and utilization technologies it would be possible to increase ethanol production more than 37% without additional corn grain inputs. Gas fermentation processes use microbes to convert carbon‐containing gases into ethanol and so have the potential to be used with the CO ₂ from biorefineries for this purpose. However, as CO ₂ utilization technologies for converting thermodynamically stable CO ₂ are typically energy intensive, it is necessary to evaluate the related life‐cycle greenhouse gas (GHG)more » emissions (carbon intensities or CIs) to see whether there are actual emission reduction benefits. In this study, we evaluate the CIs of ethanol produced from high‐purity CO ₂ in corn ethanol plants by gas fermentation plus electrochemical reduction. Our analysis shows that the sources of electricity and hydrogen are key drivers of CO ₂ ‐based ethanol's GHG emissions. With wind electricity, the design cases show the potential of near‐zero CI ethanol (1.1 g CO ₂ e/MJ), but that can increase to up to 331–531 g CO ₂ e/MJ when today's U.S. Midwest electricity mix is used. To avoid the renewable electricity intermittency issue, we considered a power purchase agreement option using wind electricity 40% of the time and using the regional mix for the rest, which provides a 42% GHG emission reduction from the CI of gasoline. © 2020 The Authors and UChicago Argonne, LLC, Operator of Argonne National Laboratory. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.« less