IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v254y2022ipcs0360544222013925.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Performance comparison of urea production using one set of integrated indicators considering energy use, economic cost and emissions’ impacts: A case from China

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Yuhong
  • Lyu, Yanfeng
  • Yang, Xiangdong
  • Zhang, Xiaohong
  • Pan, Hengyu
  • Wu, Jun
  • Lei, Yongjia
  • Zhang, Yanzong
  • Wang, Guiyin
  • Xu, Min
  • Luo, Hongbin

Abstract

Sustainability of urea production should concentrate on its economic, energy and environmental performances, but few studies are found to address the three aspects simultaneously. Here a set of indicator system, composed of energy use, economic cost, and emissions' impacts in terms of emergy and carbon emission intensity, were built to investigate this issue. Next six scenarios of Chinese urea production, attained through combination of two ammonia synthesis methods and three urea production methods, were evaluated. The study results show that (1) urea production from natural gas (UPNG) should pay more attention to indirect energy use of raw materials and energy sources while urea production from coal (UPC) should more emphasize energy efficiency of production processes, (2) dust emissions should be emphasized for carbon dioxide stripping technology and ammonia stripping technology, while more attention should be paid to NH3–N discharge from urea production using aqueous solution full-cycle technology, (3) UPNG are worse than UPC according to energy consumption intensity and economic cost but better than the latter in terms of emissions’ impacts, and (4) generally combination of coal based ammonia synthesis and ammonia stripping method is the best one.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Yuhong & Lyu, Yanfeng & Yang, Xiangdong & Zhang, Xiaohong & Pan, Hengyu & Wu, Jun & Lei, Yongjia & Zhang, Yanzong & Wang, Guiyin & Xu, Min & Luo, Hongbin, 2022. "Performance comparison of urea production using one set of integrated indicators considering energy use, economic cost and emissions’ impacts: A case from China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PC).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:254:y:2022:i:pc:s0360544222013925
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2022.124489
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544222013925
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2022.124489?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. Amaral, Luís P. & Martins, Nélson & Gouveia, Joaquim B., 2016. "A review of emergy theory, its application and latest developments," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 882-888.
    2. Panjeshahi, M.H. & Ghasemian Langeroudi, E. & Tahouni, N., 2008. "Retrofit of ammonia plant for improving energy efficiency," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 46-64.
    3. Frattini, D. & Cinti, G. & Bidini, G. & Desideri, U. & Cioffi, R. & Jannelli, E., 2016. "A system approach in energy evaluation of different renewable energies sources integration in ammonia production plants," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 472-482.
    4. Kirova-Yordanova, Zornitza, 2017. "Exergy-based estimation and comparison of urea and ammonium nitrate production efficiency and environmental impact," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(P1), pages 158-169.
    5. Zhu Liu & Dabo Guan & Wei Wei & Steven J. Davis & Philippe Ciais & Jin Bai & Shushi Peng & Qiang Zhang & Klaus Hubacek & Gregg Marland & Robert J. Andres & Douglas Crawford-Brown & Jintai Lin & Hongya, 2015. "Reduced carbon emission estimates from fossil fuel combustion and cement production in China," Nature, Nature, vol. 524(7565), pages 335-338, August.
    6. Zhang, XiaoHong & Hu, He & Zhang, Rong & Deng, ShiHuai, 2014. "Interactions between China׳s economy, energy and the air emissions and their policy implications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 624-638.
    7. Fan, Jing-Li & Xu, Mao & Li, Fengyu & Yang, Lin & Zhang, Xian, 2018. "Carbon capture and storage (CCS) retrofit potential of coal-fired power plants in China: The technology lock-in and cost optimization perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 326-334.
    8. Zhang, XiaoHong & Pan, HengYu & Cao, Jun & Li, JinRong, 2015. "Energy consumption of China’s crop production system and the related emissions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 111-125.
    9. Gengyuan Liu & Zhifeng Yang & Bin Chen & Yan Zhang & Meirong Su & Lixiao Zhang, 2013. "Emergy Evaluation of the Urban Solid Waste Handling in Liaoning Province, China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-21, October.
    10. Zhao, Tian & Liu, Zhixin, 2019. "A novel analysis of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology adoption: An evolutionary game model between stakeholders," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    11. Schröders, Sarah & Allelein, Hans-Josef, 2018. "Energy economic evaluation of process heat supply by solar tower and high temperature reactor based on the ammonia production process," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 622-639.
    12. Ukidwe, Nandan U. & Bakshi, Bhavik R., 2007. "Industrial and ecological cumulative exergy consumption of the United States via the 1997 input–output benchmark model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1560-1592.
    13. Longyu Shi & Lingyu Liu & Bin Yang & Gonghan Sheng & Tong Xu, 2020. "Evaluation of Industrial Urea Energy Consumption (EC) Based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, May.
    14. Yang, Lin & Zhang, Xian & McAlinden, Karl J., 2016. "The effect of trust on people's acceptance of CCS (carbon capture and storage) technologies: Evidence from a survey in the People's Republic of China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 69-79.
    15. Zhou, Wenji & Zhu, Bing & Li, Qiang & Ma, Tieju & Hu, Shanying & Griffy-Brown, Charla, 2010. "CO2 emissions and mitigation potential in China's ammonia industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 3701-3709, July.
    16. Zhou, Nan & Fridley, David & Khanna, Nina Zheng & Ke, Jing & McNeil, Michael & Levine, Mark, 2013. "China's energy and emissions outlook to 2050: Perspectives from bottom-up energy end-use model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 51-62.
    17. Brown, Mark T. & Campbell, Daniel E. & De Vilbiss, Christopher & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2016. "The geobiosphere emergy baseline: A synthesis," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 339(C), pages 92-95.
    18. Boulamanti, Aikaterini & Moya, Jose A., 2017. "Production costs of the chemical industry in the EU and other countries: Ammonia, methanol and light olefins," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 68(P2), pages 1205-1212.
    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. Shi, Guodong & Li, Pengfei & Li, Kesheng & Hu, Fan & Liu, Qian & Zhou, Haoyu & Liu, Zhaohui, 2023. "Insight into NOx formation characteristics of ammonia oxidation in N2 and H2O atmospheres," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).

    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. Chen, Qiuwen & Ma, Xiaohan & Hu, Jiayu & Zhang, Xiaohong, 2023. "Comparison of comprehensive performance of kiwifruit production in China, Iran, and Italy based on emergy and carbon emissions," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 483(C).
    2. Qingsong Wang & Hongkun Xiao & Qiao Ma & Xueliang Yuan & Jian Zuo & Jian Zhang & Shuguang Wang & Mansen Wang, 2020. "Review of Emergy Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment: Coupling Development Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-13, January.
    3. Fan, Jing-Li & Shen, Shuo & Wei, Shi-Jie & Xu, Mao & Zhang, Xian, 2020. "Near-term CO2 storage potential for coal-fired power plants in China: A county-level source-sink matching assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    4. Eyni-Nargeseh, Hamed & Asgharipour, Mohammad Reza & Rahimi-Moghaddam, Sajjad & Gilani, Abdolali & Damghani, Abdolmajid Mahdavi & Azizi, Khosro, 2023. "Which rice farming system is more environmentally friendly in Khuzestan province, Iran? A study based on emergy analysis," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 481(C).
    5. Zhang, XiaoHong & Wei, Ye & Li, Min & Deng, ShiHuai & Wu, Jun & Zhang, YanZong & Xiao, Hong, 2014. "Emergy evaluation of an integrated livestock wastewater treatment system," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 95-107.
    6. Jiang, Kai & Ashworth, Peta & Zhang, Shiyi & Hu, Guoping, 2022. "Print media representations of carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) technology in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    7. Xiang, Qing & Pan, Hengyu & Ma, Xiaohan & Yang, Mingdong & Lyu, Yanfeng & Zhang, Xiaohong & Shui, Wei & Liao, Wenjie & Xiao, Yinlong & Wu, Jun & Zhang, Yanzong & Xu, Min, 2024. "Impacts of energy-saving and emission-reduction on sustainability of cement production," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    8. Yapicioglu, Arda & Dincer, Ibrahim, 2019. "A review on clean ammonia as a potential fuel for power generators," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 96-108.
    9. Cristiano, S. & Ulgiati, S. & Gonella, F., 2021. "Systemic sustainability and resilience assessment of health systems, addressing global societal priorities: Learnings from a top nonprofit hospital in a bioclimatic building in Africa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    10. Jiang, Jingjing & Ye, Bin & Liu, Junguo, 2019. "Research on the peak of CO2 emissions in the developing world: Current progress and future prospect," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 186-203.
    11. Wang, Jie & Xiong, Yiling & Tian, Xin & Liu, Shangwei & Li, Jiashuo & Tanikawa, Hiroki, 2018. "Stagnating CO2 emissions with in-depth socioeconomic transition in Beijing," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 1714-1725.
    12. Xiao, Kun & Yu, Bolin & Cheng, Lei & Li, Fei & Fang, Debin, 2022. "The effects of CCUS combined with renewable energy penetration under the carbon peak by an SD-CGE model: Evidence from China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 321(C).
    13. Grande, U. & Piernik, A. & Nienartowicz, A. & Buonocore, E. & Franzese, P.P., 2023. "Measuring natural capital value and ecological complexity of lake ecosystems," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 482(C).
    14. Yue, Hui & Worrell, Ernst & Crijns-Graus, Wina, 2018. "Modeling the multiple benefits of electricity savings for emissions reduction on power grid level: A case study of China’s chemical industry," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 1603-1632.
    15. Zhang, You & Yuan, Zengwei & Margni, Manuele & Bulle, Cécile & Hua, Hui & Jiang, Songyan & Liu, Xuewei, 2019. "Intensive carbon dioxide emission of coal chemical industry in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 540-550.
    16. Jingjing Xie & Yujiao Xian & Guowei Jia, 2023. "An investigation into the public acceptance in China of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 28(5), pages 1-22, June.
    17. Longyu Shi & Lingyu Liu & Bin Yang & Gonghan Sheng & Tong Xu, 2020. "Evaluation of Industrial Urea Energy Consumption (EC) Based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, May.
    18. Chen, Yangfan & Zhang, Xiaohong, 2021. "Investigating the interactions between Chinese economic growth, energy consumption and its air environmental cost during 1989–2016 and forecasting their future trends," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 461(C).
    19. Zhao, Zhitong & Chong, Katie & Jiang, Jingyang & Wilson, Karen & Zhang, Xiaochen & Wang, Feng, 2018. "Low-carbon roadmap of chemical production: A case study of ethylene in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 580-591.
    20. Zeng, Yuan & Tan, Xianchun & Gu, Baihe & Wang, Yi & Xu, Baoguang, 2016. "Greenhouse gas emissions of motor vehicles in Chinese cities and the implication for China’s mitigation targets," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1016-1025.

    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:energy:v:254:y:2022:i:pc:s0360544222013925. 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.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    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.