| dc.description.abstract | Methanol is a very important raw material used in the chemical industry, being
applied in the production of other chemicals, such as formaldehyde, acetic acid and
plastics. In the last decade, the annual methanol production doubled, reaching 98
million metric tons (Mton), and is estimated to be 500 Mton in 2050. However, due
to being produced from fossil sources, like coal and natural gas, there is a big release
of carbon dioxide. Nowadays, about 10% (0,3 Gton) of all CO2 produced by the
chemical industry comes from the methanol cycle, which encompasses from production
to consumption. If new sources of methanol, renewables, are not delevoped, it is
estimated that in 2050, 1,5Gton of CO2 will be released annually in the cycle of this
alcohol. The major obstacle to produce methanol with less impact on the environment,
currently, is the cost to produce hydrogen gas. There are different lines of studies that
seek the feasibility of producing methanol from new sources, including: the generation
of synthesis gas from biomass (Bio-methanol or Green methanol); hydrogen production
from electrolysis, with the use of renewable energies (E-methanol or green methanol);
and carbon capture (blue methanol), which is the case studied in this work. The
objective of this work was to simulate, using the software Aspen Plus® and a kinetics
developed on a laboratory scale available in the literature, and verify the economic
feasibility of the reaction step on an industrial scale. The simulations were divided into
three stages: the initial stage was a simulation of the thermodynamics of the system,
to verify the response of the simulation with values presented in scientific publications;
then, the kinetics reported in the literature were implemented, and a validation of the
simulated results was carried out based on the empirical data; finally, it carried out
an analysis study varying the operating conditions (reactor temperature and pressure,
feed flow, catalyst mass) to assess the economic viability of the process, using the Net
Present Value (NPV) as a metric. It is expected as a result of this work to find the
conditions that can make the process viable or even indicate possible paths to economic
viability. With the function obtained, it was possible to optimize the NPV within the
limits of the kinetics under study, however, no case was found in which such value is
positive, therefore, with limitations imposed by the kinetics used, profit with sales and
cost of inputs, it is not feasible to perform the implementation of such a project | |
