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CO 2 Reduction to Substitute Natural Gas: Toward a Global Low Carbon Energy System
Author(s) -
Walspurger Stéphane,
Haije Wim G.,
Louis Benoît
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
israel journal of chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.908
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1869-5868
pISSN - 0021-2148
DOI - 10.1002/ijch.201300135
Subject(s) - substitute natural gas , renewable energy , natural gas , chemistry , fossil fuel , energy carrier , renewable natural gas , power to gas , methanation , waste management , methane , process engineering , environmental science , syngas , hydrogen , fuel gas , engineering , electrolysis , combustion , organic chemistry , electrode , electrolyte , electrical engineering
Methane has proven to be an outstanding energy carrier and is the main component of natural gas and substitute natural gas (SNG). SNG may be synthesized from the CO 2 and hydrogen available from various sources and may be introduced into the existing infrastructure used by the natural gas sector for transport and distribution to power plants, industry, and households. Renewable SNG may be generated when H 2 is produced from renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, and hydro. In parallel, the use of CO 2 ‐containing feed streams from fossil origin or preferably, from biomass, permits the avoidance of CO 2 emissions. In particular, the biomass‐to‐SNG conversion, combined with the use of renewable H 2 obtained by electrolysis, appears a promising way to reduce CO 2 emissions considerably, while avoiding energy intensive CO 2 separation from the bio feed streams. The existing technologies for the production of SNG are described in this short review, along with the need for renewed research and development efforts to improve the energy efficiency of the renewables‐to‐SNG conversion chain. Innovative technologies aiming at a more efficient management of the heat delivered in the exothermic methanation process are therefore highly desirable. The production of renewable SNG through the Sabatier process is a key process to the transition towards a global sustainable energy system, and is complementary to other renewable energy carriers such as methanol, dimethyl ether, formic acid, and Fischer‐Tropsch fuels.