IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v217y2018icp467-479.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of hydrogen fuel production from chlor-alkali processes in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Lee, Dong-Yeon
  • Elgowainy, Amgad
  • Dai, Qiang

Abstract

By-product hydrogen from chlor-alkali processes can help meet the increasing demand for hydrogen fuel in early fuel cell electric vehicle markets (e.g., California) in the U.S. Hydrogen produced from chlor-alkali plants is typically combusted for process heat on site, vented to the atmosphere (i.e., wasted), or sold to the external merchant hydrogen market. Whether it is combusted, vented, or sold as a commodity, relevant information is lacking as to the life-cycle environmental benefits or trade-offs of using by-product hydrogen from chlor-alkali plants. A life-cycle analysis framework was employed to evaluate well-to-gate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with by-product hydrogen from chlor-alkali processes in comparison with hydrogen from the conventional centralized natural gas steam methane reforming (central SMR) pathway. U.S.-specific, plant-by-plant, and up-to-date chlor-alkali production characteristics were incorporated into the analysis. In addition to the venting and combustion scenarios, to deal with the multi-functionality of the chlor-alkali processes that simultaneously produce chlorine, sodium hydroxide, and hydrogen, two different co-product allocation strategies were adopted—mass allocation and market value allocation. It was estimated that by-product hydrogen production from chlor-alkali processes creates 1.3–9.8 kg CO2e/kg H2 of life-cycle GHG emissions on average, which is 20–90% less than the conventional central SMR pathway. The results vary with co-product treatment scenarios, regional electric grid characteristics, on-site power generation, product prices, and hydrogen yield. Despite the variations in the results, it was concluded that the life-cycle GHG emission reduction benefits of using by-product hydrogen from chlor-alkali processes are robust. With a diverse set of scenario analyses, the study developed a comprehensive and detailed life-cycle GHG emissions inventory of the chlor-alkali by-product hydrogen pathway and quantified sensitivity indices in the context of different assumptions and input parameter values.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee, Dong-Yeon & Elgowainy, Amgad & Dai, Qiang, 2018. "Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of hydrogen fuel production from chlor-alkali processes in the United States," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 467-479.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:217:y:2018:i:c:p:467-479
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.02.132
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261918302666
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.02.132?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Burkhardt, Jörg & Patyk, Andreas & Tanguy, Philippe & Retzke, Carsten, 2016. "Hydrogen mobility from wind energy – A life cycle assessment focusing on the fuel supply," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 54-64.
    2. Alavi, Farid & Park Lee, Esther & van de Wouw, Nathan & De Schutter, Bart & Lukszo, Zofia, 2017. "Fuel cell cars in a microgrid for synergies between hydrogen and electricity networks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 296-304.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yadav, Deepak & Banerjee, Rangan, 2020. "Net energy and carbon footprint analysis of solar hydrogen production from the high-temperature electrolysis process," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    2. Zhang, Yongwen & Wu, Xi & Sun, Dexin & Wang, Sixue & Xu, Shiming, 2023. "Techno-economic analysis of conversing the low-grade heat to hydrogen by using reverse electrodialysis – Air gap diffusion distillation coupled method for iron and steel industry," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    3. Zhang, Jingpeng & Li, Zhengwen & Zhang, Zhihe & Feng, Kai & Yan, Binhang, 2021. "Can thermocatalytic transformations of captured CO2 reduce CO2 emissions?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    4. Ren, Lei & Zhou, Sheng & Ou, Xunmin, 2020. "Life-cycle energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions of hydrogen supply chains for fuel-cell vehicles in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    5. Li, Junjie & Cheng, Wanjing, 2020. "Comparison of life-cycle energy consumption, carbon emissions and economic costs of coal to ethanol and bioethanol," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    6. Khan, Muhammad Imran & Shahrestani, Mehdi & Hayat, Tasawar & Shakoor, Abdul & Vahdati, Maria, 2019. "Life cycle (well-to-wheel) energy and environmental assessment of natural gas as transportation fuel in Pakistan," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 1738-1752.
    7. Ralf Havertz, 2021. "South Korea’s hydrogen economy program as a case of weak ecological modernization," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 209-226, June.
    8. Yoon, Ha-Jun & Seo, Seung-Kwon & Lee, Chul-Jin, 2022. "Multi-period optimization of hydrogen supply chain utilizing natural gas pipelines and byproduct hydrogen," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    9. Roberta Olindo & Joost G. Vogtländer, 2019. "The Role of Hydrogen in the Ecological Benefits of Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel Production and Use: An LCA Benchmark," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-17, April.
    10. Ren, Lei & Zhou, Sheng & Peng, Tianduo & Ou, Xunmin, 2021. "A review of CO2 emissions reduction technologies and low-carbon development in the iron and steel industry focusing on China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    11. Lu, Qiang & Zhang, Bo & Yang, Shichun & Peng, Zhaoxia, 2022. "Life cycle assessment on energy efficiency of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    12. Bareiß, Kay & de la Rua, Cristina & Möckl, Maximilian & Hamacher, Thomas, 2019. "Life cycle assessment of hydrogen from proton exchange membrane water electrolysis in future energy systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C), pages 862-872.
    13. Mohammed Abbas, Akhtar Hasnain & Cheralathan, Kanakkampalayam Krishnan & Porpatham, Ekambaram & Arumugam, Senthil Kumar, 2024. "Hydrogen generation using methanol steam reforming – catalysts, reactors, and thermo-chemical recuperation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    14. Lopes, J.V.M. & Bresciani, A.E. & Carvalho, K.M. & Kulay, L.A. & Alves, R.M.B., 2021. "Multi-criteria decision approach to select carbon dioxide and hydrogen sources as potential raw materials for the production of chemicals," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    15. Hojun Song & Yunji Kim & Heena Yang, 2023. "Design and Optimization of an Alkaline Electrolysis System for Small-Scale Hydropower Integration," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-13, December.
    16. Arinelli, Lara de Oliveira & Brigagão, George Victor & Wiesberg, Igor Lapenda & Teixeira, Alexandre Mendonça & de Medeiros, José Luiz & Araújo, Ofélia de Queiroz F., 2022. "Carbon-dioxide-to-methanol intensification with supersonic separators: Extra-carbonated natural gas purification via carbon capture and utilization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    17. Olivier Bethoux, 2020. "Hydrogen Fuel Cell Road Vehicles and Their Infrastructure: An Option towards an Environmentally Friendly Energy Transition," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-27, November.
    18. Muhammad Rizalul Wahid & Bentang Arief Budiman & Endra Joelianto & Muhammad Aziz, 2021. "A Review on Drive Train Technologies for Passenger Electric Vehicles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-24, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Seck, Gondia Sokhna & Hache, Emmanuel & D'Herbemont, Vincent & Guyot, Mathis & Malbec, Louis-Marie, 2023. "Hydrogen development in Europe: Estimating material consumption in net zero emissions scenarios," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    2. Mansour-Saatloo, Amin & Pezhmani, Yasin & Mirzaei, Mohammad Amin & Mohammadi-Ivatloo, Behnam & Zare, Kazem & Marzband, Mousa & Anvari-Moghaddam, Amjad, 2021. "Robust decentralized optimization of Multi-Microgrids integrated with Power-to-X technologies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    3. Kurnia, Jundika C. & Sasmito, Agus P. & Shamim, Tariq, 2017. "Performance evaluation of a PEM fuel cell stack with variable inlet flows under simulated driving cycle conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 751-764.
    4. Tostado-Véliz, Marcos & Rezaee Jordehi, Ahmad & Fernández-Lobato, Lázuli & Jurado, Francisco, 2023. "Robust energy management in isolated microgrids with hydrogen storage and demand response," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 345(C).
    5. Lewandowska-Bernat, Anna & Desideri, Umberto, 2018. "Opportunities of power-to-gas technology in different energy systems architectures," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 57-67.
    6. Wu, Wei & Taipabu, Muhammad Ikhsan & Chang, Wei-Chen & Viswanathan, Karthickeyan & Xie, Yi-Lin & Kuo, Po-Chih, 2022. "Economic dispatch of torrefied biomass polygeneration systems considering power/SNG grid demands," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 707-719.
    7. Corey Duncan & Robin Roche & Samir Jemei & Marie-Cécile Péra, 2022. "Techno-economical modelling of a power-to-gas system for plant configuration evaluation in a local context," Post-Print hal-03692975, HAL.
    8. Yang, Zijun & Wang, Bowen & Jiao, Kui, 2020. "Life cycle assessment of fuel cell, electric and internal combustion engine vehicles under different fuel scenarios and driving mileages in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    9. Ajanovic, Amela & Sayer, Marlene & Haas, Reinhard, 2024. "On the future relevance of green hydrogen in Europe," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 358(C).
    10. O’Dwyer, Edward & Pan, Indranil & Acha, Salvador & Shah, Nilay, 2019. "Smart energy systems for sustainable smart cities: Current developments, trends and future directions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C), pages 581-597.
    11. Lo Cascio, Ermanno & De Schutter, Bart & Schenone, Corrado, 2018. "Flexible energy harvesting from natural gas distribution networks through line-bagging," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 253-263.
    12. Kolb, Sebastian & Plankenbühler, Thomas & Hofmann, Katharina & Bergerson, Joule & Karl, Jürgen, 2021. "Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of renewable gas technologies: A comparative review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    13. Meena, Nand K. & Yang, Jin & Zacharis, Evan, 2019. "Optimisation framework for the design and operation of open-market urban and remote community microgrids," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 1-1.
    14. Wenhui Zhao & Jibin Ma & Zhanyang Wang & Youting Li & Weishi Zhang, 2022. "Potential Hydrogen Market: Value-Added Services Increase Economic Efficiency for Hydrogen Energy Suppliers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-18, April.
    15. Danlu Xu & Zhoubin Liu & Rui Shan & Haixiao Weng & Haoyu Zhang, 2023. "How a Grid Company Could Enter the Hydrogen Industry through a New Business Model: A Case Study in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-21, March.
    16. Kaya, Mehmet Fatih & Demir, Nesrin & Rees, Neil V. & El-Kharouf, Ahmad, 2020. "Improving PEM water electrolyser’s performance by magnetic field application," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    17. Jan Christian Koj & Christina Wulf & Andrea Schreiber & Petra Zapp, 2017. "Site-Dependent Environmental Impacts of Industrial Hydrogen Production by Alkaline Water Electrolysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-15, June.
    18. Zhu, Dafeng & Yang, Bo & Liu, Qi & Ma, Kai & Zhu, Shanying & Ma, Chengbin & Guan, Xinping, 2020. "Energy trading in microgrids for synergies among electricity, hydrogen and heat networks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    19. Grüger, Fabian & Dylewski, Lucy & Robinius, Martin & Stolten, Detlef, 2018. "Carsharing with fuel cell vehicles: Sizing hydrogen refueling stations based on refueling behavior," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 1540-1549.
    20. Farahani, Samira S. & Bleeker, Cliff & van Wijk, Ad & Lukszo, Zofia, 2020. "Hydrogen-based integrated energy and mobility system for a real-life office environment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:217:y:2018:i:c:p:467-479. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.