Decarbonization of Chemical Production

Production and Distribution of Electricity and Heat

The production of basic chemical products, including chlorine, ammonia/urea, methanol, ethylene/propylene, benzene/toluene/xylene (BTX), accounts for 50% of the chemical sector's greenhouse gas production. In particular, five are the main products by production volume and associated energy consumption including ammonia, ethylene, propylene, methanol and BTX. By focusing the analysis on three basic products such as ammonia, methanol and ethylene, more detailed considerations can be made regarding the processes, energy intensities, unit greenhouse gas emissions and possible options for decarbonization that will be the subject of this document. As for the production of ammonia, globally it was about 185 Mt/year in 2020 of which more than 36% in China. In fact, it is estimated that the demand could reach 230 Mt/year by 2050 if we consider only traditional uses while also including the share of use as an energy carrier the demand is estimated at about 350 Mt/year by 2050, a double share compared to current demand. The production of methanol at a global level was instead of 98 Mt/year in 2019 with consumption estimates of 142 Mt/year by 2030 and 500 Mt/year by 2050, with a strong driving force in consumption linked to the use of methanol as a fuel and energy carrier and as a precursor of other chemical like olefins and aromatic compounds. As for the production of ethylene, globally this was 144 Mt/year in 2015 of which 16% in China. Ethylene is used in a very important way (about 70% of production) in the production of plastics and the demand could triple by 2050. The use of primary sources in the production of ammonia, ethylene and methanol amounts to about 30 EJ considering both energy and non-energy uses as feedstock. The current energy intensities are approximately 46 GJ/t, 38-42 GJ/t and 68 GJ/t respectively for ammonia, methanol and ethylene. The emission factors at the global average level are 2.4 tCO2/t, 2.3 tCO2/t, 1.5 tCO2/t respectively for ammonia, methanol and ethylene. In the case of ethylene, the relatively low values of unit emission factors compared to those of ammonia, despite the high energy intensity, suggest that most of the primary fossil energy sources are used as a raw material for the production of the compound. Ammonia production deploys for about 70% natural gas and 30% coal, similar shares characterize the production of methanol with 65% of natural gas, a small share of renewable primary sources (about 0.2%) and the remaining part coal. Ethylene is produced from petroleum refining or natural gas processing products such as naphtha, ethane and LPG. Overall, 43% of ethylene globally is produced from naphtha while 35% is produced from ethane. Several options have been identified for the decarbonisation of these chemicals. The possible technologies for the decarbonization of the different products have been classified on the basis of a taxonomy that includes two main categories, namely 1) electrification, the use of hydrogen and biomass and 2) carbon capture, storage and utilization technologies together with low-carbon solutions.

29-07-2022

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