A systematic technique for cost-effective CO2 emission reduction in process plants

Abstract

There has been a growing interest in reducing environmental impact caused by greenhouse gasses emissions through various energy minimisation strategies in process plants contributing to sustainable production. CO2 emissions are closely linked to energy generation, conversion, transmissions and utilisation. Numerous studies on the design of energy-efficient processes, optimal mix of renewable energy and hybrid power system are driven to reduce reliance on fossil fuel as well as mitigate CO2 emissions. This paper presents a tool for cost-effective CO2 emission reduction for the industry. A conceptual technique in the form of graphical visualisation tools has been introduced. This technique is performed in four steps. The first step is to determine the energy consumption of a process plant followed by determining the potential strategies to reduce CO2 emissions by using CO2 management hierarchy (CMH) as a guide. The “Investment” vs “CO2 Reduction” (ICO2) plot is constructed to measure the optimal CO2 emission reductions based on the possible strategies implementation. Systematic Hierarchical Approach for Resilient Process Screening (SHARPS) method is then used to screen the options by substituting or implementing partially the various CO2 reduction options in order to meet the cost effective emission reduction within the desired investment or payback period (PP). The graphical tool provides an insight-based approach for systematic CO2 emission reduction in industry considering both thermal and electrical energy sources. An illustrative case study on a palm oil refinery plant was used to demonstrate how the method can be applied to reduce CO2 emissions. Results show that 28.4 % reduction in CO2 emission can be achieved with an investment of RM 149,182, and a payback period of 1 y 5 months considering present energy prices in Malaysia.