Global Potentials and Costs of Synfuels via Fischer–Tropsch Process

Abstract

This paper presents the potentials and costs of synthetic fuels (synfuels) produced by renewable energy via PEM water electrolysis and the subsequent Fischer–Tropsch process for the years 2020, 2030, 2040, and 2050 in selected countries across the globe. The renewable energy potential was determined by the open-source tool pyGRETA and includes photovoltaic, onshore wind, and biomass. Carbon dioxide is obtained from biomass and the atmosphere by direct air capture. The potentials and costs were determined by aggregating minimal cost energy systems for each location on a state level. Each linear energy system was modelled and optimised by the optimisation framework urbs. The analysis focused on decentralised and off-grid synthetic fuels’ production. The transportation costs were roughly estimated based on the distance to the nearest maritime port for export. The distribution infrastructure was not considered since the already-existing infrastructure for fossil fuels can be easily adopted. The results showed that large amounts of synthetic fuels are available for EUR 110/MWh (USD 203/bbl) mainly in Africa, Central and South America, as well as Australia for 2050. This corresponds to a cost reduction of more than half compared to EUR 250/MWh (USD 461/bbl) in 2020. The synfuels’ potentials follow the photovoltaic potentials because of the corresponding low levelised cost of electricity. Batteries are in particular used for photovoltaic-dominant locations, and transportation costs are low compared to production costs.

Perspectives on Thermochemical Recycling of End-of-Life Plastic Wastes to Alternative Fuels

“…Hydrogen is also used to upgrade heavy and light gas oils, pyrolysis-derived bio-oil and liquefaction-derived bio-crude oil through a variety of hydrotreating technologies such as hydrodeoxygenation, hydrodenitrogenation, hydrodesulfurization and hydrodemetallization [ 115 , 116 , 117 ]. Hydrogen is also used as a raw material to produce clean fuels in the range of gasoline, diesel and jet-fuels, chemicals and lubricants through the catalytic Fischer–Tropsch process [ 118 ].…”

Feasibility of Green Hydrogen-Based Synthetic Fuel as a Carbon Utilization Option: An Economic Analysis

“…Several papers on synfuel production have considered centralized systems, integrating several major processes to maximize the potential benefits of system integration. These include the integration of renewable energy sources [6], the hydrogen feedstock production process [8], and the CO 2 capture process [7]. However, given our previously defined scenarios, we need to decouple these processes from the synfuel production itself.…”

“…The significant stakes raised in this national climate target entail the adoption of multiple decarbonization pathways, many of which may take years to fully mature [2]. Carbon reduction methods consider both CO 2 capture and storage (CCS) or utilization (CCU) [3], with the former focusing on sequestering captured CO 2 and the latter focusing on the usage of captured CO 2 , especially in traditionally carbon-intensive industries such as cement [4], steel [5], and fuels [6][7][8][9]. CCS has been touted in recent years to be a vital technology for the achievement of net zero targets.…”