Towards Methanol Economy: A Techno-environmental Assessment for a Bio-methanol OFMSW/Biomass/Carbon Capture-based Integrated Plant

The anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic fraction municipal solid wastes (OFMSW) is a well-known technology for the valorization of wastes with the production of biogas, the latter usually used in power plant. Nevertheless, more and more effort is necessary in order to produce energy and chemicals from renewables as a strategy for replacing fossil fuels and reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In particular, methanol is considered as a promising energetic vector of the future since it may be produced from renewables and it may be used as a reactant for fuels and chemical production. Currently, methanol is industrially produced via syngas conversion using natural gas as the main feedstock. Bio-methane produced in AD unit may be used as an alternative to natural gas for production of syngas that may be used for methanol production. In this work, a techno-environmental assessment for methanol production from biogas is presented and discussed, with focusing on the effect of side-unit, e.g. biomass gasification, carbon dioxide capture and renewable hydrogen production, on the environmental impact. Results show that highest CO2 saving is calculated for the biomass-integrated plant, although more detailed investigations, e.g. cost analysis, need for a proper assessment.