Assessment of prodction of synthetic fuels (E-fuels) from CO2 and green hydrogen

E-fuels (synthetic fuels) have been identified as a possible solution to decarbonize transport sector. E-fuels are defined as fuels produced using carbon di oxide and green hydrogen. The carbon di oxide will come from the carbon capture technologies while green hydrogen will be produced using water electrolysis or biomass gasification. Sustainability of these novel E-fuels needs to be assessed at an early stage so that promising fuels and processes can be prioritized. Similarly, emission and cost hotspots can be identified to improve laboratory scale processes. The project focuses on performing such early stage assessment of selected routes.

The project focuses on performing detailed LCA (life cycle assessment) and TEA (techno-economic assessment) of selected E-fuels production pathways. Particular focus will be on the stage of E-fuel synthesis. For selected pathways, detailed process flowsheets will be developed. Mass and energy balance using knowledge of chemical process engineering will be performed. Process flowsheet simulations will be performed if required to generate process data. Heat and mass integration and optimization of process design will be performed.The data generated through such activities will be used to conducted detailed life cycle assessment and preliminary techno-economic assessment. This will need knowledge in the field of process economics, as well as equipment selection, design, and process integration. LCA will be performed using OpenLCA, an open source LCA software.

This work is completely computational.

P.S.: This work requires "natural intelligence" and "human learning". There is no AI/ML component in this work.