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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 451 records · Page 25
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Optimal environmental and economic performance trade-offs for fifth generation district heating and cooling network topologies with waste heat recovery

Network topology greatly influences both the economic and environmental performance of fifth generation district heating and cooling (5GDHC) systems. In this study the optimal trade-offs between the environmental and economic performance of 5GDHC network topologies for a five-building district with waste heat recovery were explored. A life cycle assessment method was used to calculate the total life cycle CO 2 emissions (LCCO2) associated with the installation and operation of various network topologies. Twelve months of empirical data from a data center cooling system were analyzed to assess its suitability for integration into a 5GDHC system. The most suitable method for utilizing this waste heat was selected based on the ambient loop warm pipe setpoint, waste heat temperature, and district energy system configuration. A multi-objective optimization algorithm was used to select the 5GDHC network topology that provided the optimal trade-off between LCCO2 and life cycle cost (LCC). A trade-off parameter was employed to weigh the importance of each objective in the selection process. The results showed waste heat from the data center was suitable for integration into the 5GDHC system due to its availability and consistent temperature profile. When return temperatures of 25 °C or higher were available from the liquid-cooled system, direct pre-heating of the ambient loop warm pipe was found to be the most effective waste heat integration method. The selection of the network topology that provided the optimal trade-off between LCCO2 and LCC (optimal trade-off topology) was highly dependent on factors such as fuel prices, CO 2 prices, electricity CO 2 emissions factors, availability of waste heat, embodied CO 2 emissions associated with network installation and network infrastructure costs. Optimal trade-off topologies produced substantial LCCO2 reductions relative to corresponding LCC increases. LCCO2 reduction to LCC increase ratios from 5.78 to 117.79 were identified with CO 2 offset costs ranging from 4.77 to 60.08 ($/tCO 2 e).

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2025

Modeling distributed energy resource aggregations in security constrained unit commitment and economic dispatch

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently issued Order 2222, which requires all wholesale electricity markets in the US to allow distributed energy resources (DERs) to participate in the market as aggregated resources. These DER aggregations may be composed of many individual resources that are offered and dispatched by the market as a single entity. We present here a model of a distributed energy resource aggregator (DERA) that is scheduled by a market operator’s security constrained unit commitment (SCUC) and security constrained economic dispatch (SCED). The DERA model includes constraints for battery energy storage systems (BESSs), demand response resources (DRRs), and a simple distributed energy resource (DER). This paper describes a model for each resource type and presents two methods for the DERA to generate market offer curves: a profit-maximizing optimization to compute cost curves and a direct cost algorithm to determine dispatch costs for each resource and combine into cost curves. Once all participating DERAs are scheduled in SCUC/SCED, the model is then modified to dispatch individual DERs to maximize profit or minimize schedule deviation of the DERAs. A simulation of a representative day illustrates the DERA offers, the scheduled generation, and the DERA dispatch. Findings show the potential for unavoidable schedule deviations due to internal DER constraints and due to economic incentives to deviate from the SCUC/SCED schedules. This highlights the importance of DERA offer construction on market efficiency and system reliability. Novel aspects of our approach include: (1) We consider the asymmetry of price incentives impacting DERAs from the wholesale market compared to those impacting consumers from the retail market, as imposed by current regulations and laws. (2) We model aggregate consumer response through statistically parameterizable utility functions rather than a potentially impractical approach of modeling each individual consumer. (3) We show how to use the DERA operational dispatch model to create offers into the wholesale electricity market. (4) We show how DERAs may fail to meet their scheduled dispatch because the market offer format may not permit them to fully express their operational features such as intertemporal costs and constraints to the market.

aggregations↗
DOE OSTI2021

Process modeling, techno-economic assessment, and life cycle assessment of the electrochemical reduction of CO 2 : a review

The electrochemical reduction of CO 2 has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional fossil-based technologies for the synthesis of chemicals. Its industrial implementation could lead to a reduction in the carbon footprint of chemicals and the mitigation of climate change impacts caused by hard-to-decarbonize industrial applications, among other benefits. However, the current low technology readiness levels of such emerging technologies make it hard to predict their performance at industrial scales. During the past few years, researchers have developed diverse techniques to model and assess the electrochemical reduction of CO 2 toward its industrial implementation. The aim of this literature review is to provide a comprehensive overview of techno-economic and life cycle assessment methods and pave the way for future assessment approaches. First, we identify which modeling approaches have been conducted to extend analysis to the production scale. Next, we explore the metrics used to evaluate such systems, regarding technical, environmental, and economic aspects. Finally, we assess the challenges and research opportunities for the industrial implementation of CO 2 reduction via electrolysis.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Economic and environmental impacts of a non-traditional combined heat and power system for a discrete manufacturing facility

Combined heat and power (CHP) is an electricity generation strategy that benefits all sides with a vested interest in the nations’ energy future. The technology allows for the efficient production of electricity and heat, which in turn reduces the carbon footprint and energy costs of a facility with significant heat and electricity loads. This paper investigates, through a detailed dynamic simulation, how a highly non-traditional CHP facility can leverage those forces to economically and environmentally benefit. Four system configurations of a composites manufacturing facility, one existing and three proposed systems, including two CHP configurations and one combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) configuration are evaluated from both economic and environmental views. The three proposed configurations are based on a 600 kW microturbine as the primary mover. The dynamic model showed great potential to capture the dynamics of the system configurations including the dynamics of temperature, oven exhaust fraction, electrical efficiency, and overall efficiency of the system configurations. All 3 CHP systems have a payback period between 8.03 and 8.33 years. The proposed system configurations reduce up to 22.7% of the CO 2 emission compared to the existing facility, supplying the demands in a cleaner manner.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Home charging for all: Techno-economic and life cycle assessment of multi-unit dwelling electric vehicle charging hubs

Ubiquitous electric vehicle adoption can drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) but will require equitable home charging infrastructure for all residences. Unlike single-family homes, Multi-Unit Dwellings (MUD) currently lack market share and access to nearby charging infrastructure partly due to expensive capital costs for reluctant residential property-owners. Further, this work evaluates the levelized cost of charging (LCOC) for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) at MUD community charging hubs through a techno-economic analysis (TEA) that leverages real-world charging data and costs. Three different MUD charging types are investigated for a baseline and optimistic case: 1.9-kW Level 1 (L1), 6.6-kW Level 2 (L2), and 50-kW Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) stations under three different ownership models: resident, utility, and private company. Results demonstrate L1 and L2 chargers to be less expensive than the gasoline equivalent across the United States. Further, utility and private company ownership models, which avoid initial costs for residential property owners, result in a large LCOC premium for L1 and moderate LCOC premium for L2 relative to the resident ownership model. In contrast, DCFC is shown to be expensive for baseline scenarios but economical for optimistic scenarios especially under private company ownership. This work also performs a cradle to grave (C2G) life cycle assessment (LCA) of an average passenger BEV and gasoline conventional vehicle (CV) using yearly (grid mix & vehicle parameters), hourly (grid mix), and state-level (grid mix) resolution. Results show BEVs to have lower GHG emissions (-86% to-10%) than gasoline CVs in the contiguous U.S. Next, the system boundary of the TEA is extended to the total cost of ownership (TCO) of BEVs. The TCO is then coupled with the C2G GHG emissions to calculate the cost of GHG emissions reduction. Ultimately, the cost of GHG emissions reduction from MUD BEVs relative to gasoline CVs is shown to be negative for every scenario except baseline DCFC, meaning MUD BEV charging infrastructure can be a cost-effective endeavor to reduce GHG emissions.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Towards the sustainable conversion of corn stover into bioenergy and bioproducts through biochemical route: Technical, economic and strategic perspectives

Corn stover (CS) is one of the most abundant agricultural wastes and is ubiquitous around the world that is left over after grain harvest and accounts for 47–50% dry mass of the total grain yield. The global CS yield is 1661.25 million tons/year, which is 27.2% of the total agricultural waste. CS consists of about 34.5% stems, 32.3% leaves, 14.3% husks, 12.3% cobs and 6.6% flowers, with up to 45% cellulose, 30% hemicellulose and 20% lignin. Further, due to its favorable economic and environmental potential, CS is considered an ideal raw material for producing biofuels and biobased chemicals, which can largely be divided into carbohydrate and lignin platforms. However, the techno-economic perspectives of CS-based biorefineries have remained questionable due to the inadequate supply chain logistics, lack of cost-effective conversion technologies, limited scale-up of the product-specific technologies, and lower competitiveness in the market compared to their counterparts, such as sugar and starch-based biorefineries. While CS is converted by thermochemical and biochemical approaches, the latter is considered to be more sustainable for its selective conversion under mild conditions using microorganisms. This review aimed to critically discuss the latest research and developments on the biochemical conversion of CS into biofuels and chemicals. In particular, this paper covers the market potential of biofuels and chemicals to which CS can make a significant contribution, technological developments in the microbial conversion of CS, major biofuels and chemicals produced from CS-derived carbohydrates and lignin, and the technoeconomic perspectives of CS-based biorefinery.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Implications of pond reliability on the techno-economic and life cycle environmental impacts of algal biofuels

Despite extensive research on algal bioproducts, there is limited understanding of how pond contamination affects their economics and environmental impacts. This work compared the costs and environmental impacts of algal biofuels across different pond failure scenarios. Pond failure was simulated by a reliability model based on pond mean-time-to-failure (MTTF). The reliability model was integrated with a process model to analyze the impacts of pond failure on the operations of algal farms and biorefineries. Process model outputs were used for techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment to determine the minimum fuel selling price (MFSP), global warming potential (GWP), and freshwater consumption impacts of algal biofuels for five MTTF scenarios of 20, 54, 80,120, and 350 days, assuming an average mean-time-to-reset of 7 days. Results show that higher MTTFs reduce the cost and environmental impact of algal biofuels, but with diminishing returns. The average MFSPs for the 20-day, 54-day, and 350-day MTTF scenarios were $\$3.52$, $\$2.54$, and $\$2.10$ per liter of gasoline equivalent, respectively. The GWP for the same scenarios were 131, 96, and 83 g CO 2eq MJ –1 , respectively. This study highlights the significant impact of larger seed trains, required under low MTTFs, on the costs and greenhouse gas emissions of algal biofuels. Moreover, the work shows that algal biofuels fail to be cost-competitive with conventional fuels, even when productivities are increased from 17 to 35 g m –2 d –1 . Furthermore, this work is the first to explore the implications of pond failure on the sustainability of algal biofuels and provides valuable insights to algae farmers on how to reduce the costs and financial risks of algal cultivation through process design and pond management strategies.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Techno-economic assessment of residential PV system tariff policies in Jordan

This study assesses the economic and technical performance of four energy policy scenarios for Jordan's residential photovoltaic (PV) systems: net metering, net billing, zero-export with battery storage, and sell-all-buy-all. With the recent introduction of time-of-use (TOU) tariffs and policies addressing the “duck curve” effect, the research focuses on optimizing PV system sizing across different regulatory frameworks. A detailed techno-economic analysis evaluates these scenarios based on energy production, cost savings, payback periods, and energy self-sufficiency. The findings indicate that net metering and net billing offer the highest cost savings and the shortest payback periods (∼3 years). While the zero-export strategy with battery storage enhances energy self-sufficiency by up to 70%, it requires a higher upfront investment. The sell-all-buy-all scenario supports larger system sizes, achieving a low levelized cost of electricity (0.0696 USD/kWh) and a net present value of 619 USD. Additionally, the study identifies a critical feed-in tariff threshold of 0.055 USD/kWh, at which net billing becomes as financially attractive as net metering. Here, these insights offer valuable recommendations for policymakers to optimize net billing rates and TOU tariffs, promoting the expansion of Jordan's renewable energy sector.

Battery storage↗
DOE OSTI2025

Are quantum materials economically and environmentally sustainable?

Quantum materials have revolutionized energy, information, and healthcare technologies, yet their development has largely prioritized performance over economic and environmental impacts—key factors for industrial adoption. Using topological materials as a case study, we present a data-driven framework that evaluates over 16,000 materials based on cost, supply chain resilience, energy demand, toxicity, and environmental footprint. By integrating the recently proposed quantum weight – a metric quantifying quantum behavior – we reveal a striking trend: materials with stronger quantum effects often exhibit higher environmental impact, posing challenges for scalability and industrial adoption. To address this, we identify a small set of materials that achieve a balance between quantum functionality and sustainability. Furthermore, our approach enables high-throughput, AI-driven materials discovery that incorporates economic and environmental influences from the outset, guiding the development of quantum materials for next-generation microelectronics and energy harvesting technologies.

AI↗
DOE OSTI2025

Techno-economic analysis of sugarcane bagasse and straw conversion into cellulosic ethanol via consolidated bioprocessing

Cellulosic biofuels offer a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels and a means to mitigate climate change. Consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) featuring engineered thermophilic bacteria, combined with mechanical disruption during fermentation (cotreatment), has potential to lower production costs compared to featuring thermochemical pretreatment and added cellulase. A techno-economic analysis was conducted (230 million L ethanol/year) from sugarcane bagasse and straw at stand-alone facilities generating electricity from residues. Three scenarios were evaluated: Conventional, featuring hydrothermal pretreatment, fungal cellulase, and yeast fermentation (current commercial standard); Mid-term CBP, relying on bagasse solubilization without pretreatment or cotreatment; and Mature CBP, incorporating cotreatment but no pretreatment. Results for these scenarios in this order were: fixed capital investment (CapEx) $\$$589M, $\$$658M, and $\$$472M; net annual revenue (EBITDA) $\$$56M, $\$$96M, and $\$$94M; and minimum ethanol selling price 0.73, 0.61, and 0.48 US$\$$/L. Payback periods were 10.5, 6.9, and 5.1 years, while all scenarios showed <5 years at European prices for scales >100M L/year. Sensitivity and risk analysis highlighted ethanol price as the most critical variable. It is notable that Mid-term CBP had shorter payback times and better overall economic feasibility compared to Conventional. Our results underscore opportunities for research-driven innovation on low-cost cellulosic ethanol technologies in Brazil and elsewhere.

Consolidated bioprocessing↗
DOE OSTI2021

Revisiting the Temporal Leontief Inverse: New Insights on the Analysis of Regional Technological Economic Change

The current availability of longer series of input-output tables, as well as the release of global input-output databases, has fostered a growing literature analyzing changes in the economic structure and their drivers. In this paper, we take advantage of these time-series by proposing a methodology designed to trace the contribution of different drivers of the change in interindustrial relationships over time. Based on the Temporal Leontief Inverse (TLI), the Extended TLI (ETLI) decomposes the economy-wide effects of changes in direct interindustrial links between years, isolating the impact of different determinants of economic (environmental, energy, etc.) spillovers according to the interests of the researcher. For example, one can explore how the multipliers of a particular industry were affected by changes in technology of other sectors and in the own sector; by changes in trade patterns in specific countries; by indirect changes in intraregional production chains in foreign nations; etc. The ETLI is illustrated by uncovering certain hidden effects not captured in a previous application of the original TLI to the Chicago region between 1980-1997.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Techno-economic assessment of distributed wellhead RO water treatment for nitrate removal and salinity reduction: A field study in small disadvantaged communities

Techno-economic analysis of distributed wellhead water treatment and desalination (DWTD) systems was carried out based on a three-year field study in three small, disadvantaged communities (DACs) to evaluate the reliability and affordability of upgrading their impaired well water. The local water supplies of the three study DACs, located in Salinas Valley, California, were contaminated with nitrate at levels (~ 12–87 mg/L NO$^{-}_{3}$ - N) ) above the California maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 mg/L NO$^{-}_{3}$ - N , and had elevated water salinity (~600–1,600 mg/L total dissolved solids(TDS)) above its secondary MCL (SMCL) of 500 mg/L TDS. Well water nitrate removal and salinity reduction were accomplished via reverse osmosis (RO) based DWTD systems that operated autonomously, supported by remote monitoring and supervisory cyberinfrastructure. Reliable DWTD operation provided treated water quality, with respect to nitrate and salinity, in the range of 0.5–6.3 mg/L NO$^{-}_{3}$ - N and 57–161 mg/L TDS, respectively, which were well below the respective MCL and SMCL. The levelized cost of water treatment was in the range of ~$$2/m 3 - $$2.9/m 3 which aligns with typical residential water costs in California and in the study region, and monthly residential water costs (39 dollars-74 dollars/residential unit/month) were also within the range in California. The study showcased the DWTD approach as a viable and potentially scalable solution for upgrading impaired local potable water supply of communities lacking centralized water delivery infrastructure. However, streamlined permitting processes and standardized regulatory frameworks are critical to promoting wider adoption and maximizing the socio-economic benefits of the DWT approach. Moreover, DACs are likely to require government subsidies in order to cover the CapEx of DWTD systems in addition to upgrade of site infrastructure.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage in Hydrogen Production: A Combined Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Assessment

This paper presents a coupled techno-economic and life cycle assessment of “blue” hydrogen to be produced at a hydrogen facility through steam methane reforming (SMR) equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS). Blue hydrogen was modeled in ChemCAD, while an integrated asset model represented the carbon capture and storage chain. An unabated carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) configuration release 11.99 kgCO 2 -eq/ kgH 2 . Capturing ≥95% of the CO 2 stream lowers the carbon footprint to 6.59 kgCO 2 -eq/kgH2 but raises the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) from $\$$1.82/kgH 2 (no CO 2 capture) to $\$$3.22/kgH 2 ; the U.S. 45Q tax credit reduces it to $\$$2.59/kgH 2 . Incorporating CCS reduces the levelized net present value from $\$$0.87/kgH 2 to $\$$0.74/kgH 2 , owing to additional capture, transport, and storage costs. Supplying SMR with low-carbon electricity, especially nuclear, wind, or hydro, delivers the lowest carbon footprint relative to geothermal or grid mixes. Sensitivity analysis identifies that hydrogen sales price, internal rate of return, and CCS cost as the strongest economic levers, while electricity demand dominates residual lifecycle emissions. The results underscore a clear trade-off; substantial CO 2 reductions are achievable, but only with higher production costs, making supportive policy instruments, access to clean power, and robust hydrogen markets essential for large-scale deployment of blue hydrogen.

carbon capture↗
DOE OSTI2021

Water Quality Effects of Economically Viable Land Use Change in the Mississippi River Basin under the Renewable Fuel Standard

Demand for biofuel production driven by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) has coincided with increased land in corn production and increasing nitrogen (N) loss to the Gulf of Mexico. Diversifying cropland with perennial energy crops (miscanthus and switchgrass) may reduce N loss and improve water quality. However, the extent of these benefits depends on the mix of biomass feedstocks (corn stover, perennials) incentivized by the RFS2 and the extent to which energy crops displace N-intensive row crops. We developed an integrated economic-biophysical model to quantify the water quality impacts of three potential policy scenarios that provided corn ethanol at levels before the RFS2 (RFS1 baseline); 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol (corn ethanol only); or 16 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol in addition to corn ethanol (corn + cellulosic ethanol). Our results showed that economically optimal locations for perennial energy crop production were distributed across idle cropland with lower intrinsic N loss than active cropland. We found stover removal incentivized by the RFS2 offset N loss benefits of perennial energy crops. Furthermore, this finding suggests that targeted incentives for N loss reduction are needed to supplement the RFS2 to induce displacement of N-intensive row crops with energy crops to reduce N losses.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Techno-Economic Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Waste Lignin Fractionation and Valorization Using the ALPHA Process

Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) were performed on the Aqueous Lignin Purification with Hot Agents (ALPHA) process, which is being investigated for the fractionation and purification of raw, bulk lignins recovered from cellulosic ethanol biorefineries or Kraft pulp mills. Here, ALPHA is proposed for the isolation of lignin from a corn stover-to-ethanol plant into purified low, medium, and high molecular weight (MW) fractions for producing polyurethane foam, activated carbon, and carbon fiber, respectively. A scenario analysis was conducted to determine the effect of ALPHA solvent choice on process economics and environmental performance. Solvent choice was found to have a significant impact on ALPHA, with a minimum selling price of 838/tonne with use of acetic acid vs 463/tonne with ethanol. Conversion of the lignin, processed with ethanol solvent, to high-value products yields 151 million/year in profit, which over 30 years results in a total net present value of 533 million. A life cycle assessment was conducted to determine the “gate-to-gate” greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption of the lignin-based products compared to fossil-based equivalents. In conclusion, a value allocation scenario was conducted and it was determined that products generated using the ALPHA process with ethanol have similar or lower greenhouse gas emissions than the same products from fossil feedstocks.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Techno-economic Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Gluconic Acid and Xylonic Acid Production from Waste Materials

Organic acid-based bioleaching has attracted significant research interest for the recovery of rare earth elements(REEs) and other critical metals. Utilizing biologically produced leaching agents, known as biolixiviants, derived from waste materials holds great promise for enhancing the economic viability and environmental sustainability of bioleaching processes. Here this study focuses on the modeling and optimization of biolixiviant production using corn stover (CS), date palm clippings (DP), and nonrecyclable paper (NP). Techno-economic analysis revealed that gluconic acid production from NP is more cost-effective than that from CS and DP, with respective costs of $0.04/kg, $0.06−0.08/kg, and $0.06−0.09/kg of the biolixiviant, yielding gluconic acid concentrations of 135.39, 172.90, and 176.87 mM, respectively. Life cycle assessment demonstrated that biolixiviant production from NP exerts the lowest environmental impact compared with the other evaluated substrates. When applied to the bioleaching of a neodymium−iron−boron magnet swarf, the biolixiviant derived from NP exhibits the highest leaching efficiencies, confirming its cost and environmental competitiveness in comparison to CS and DP

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Sustainable Aviation Fuel from High-Strength Wastewater via Membrane-Assisted Volatile Fatty Acid Production: Experimental Evaluation, Techno-economic, and Life-Cycle Analyses

To reduce emissions from combustion of fossil fuels, sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) have the potential to decarbonize the aviation sector. Redirecting wastes from conventional waste management practices and using them as cost-effective feedstocks for low-carbon fuels can reduce emissions from both waste disposal and fuel combustion. One approach is to upgrade wet wastes to SAF precursors, such as volatile fatty acids (VFAs). Here, in this study, novel membrane-assisted arrested methanogenesis was developed to convert high-strength wastewater to VFAs. Based on experimental results of VFA production, techno-economic and life-cycle analyses were conducted to estimate the potential economic and environmental benefits of SAF production from high-strength wastewater via VFAs. By evaluating three proposed scenarios for VFA production, a minimum production cost of VFA is achieved at $\$$0.60/kg VFA at a wastewater flow rate of 1100 MT/d. For the corresponding VFA-derived SAF, the estimated minimum fuel selling price is $\$$4.64/gasoline gallon equivalent. The life-cycle analysis shows that up to a 71% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved relative to its fossil-counterpart along with lower water and fossil-fuel consumption.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Assessment of Chemical Recycling and Upcycling of Mixed Plastics Waste Containing Poly-vinyl-chloride

Developing technologies that completely remove chlorine from plastic waste can allow its chemical recycling and upcycling with catalytic methods. Here, this study compares eight processes involving different dechlorination methods (absorption columns, adsorption in beds of zeolites, catalytic dechlorination, and dissolution in ionic liquids) and chemical conversion technologies (incineration, pyrolysis, hydrogenolysis) to upgrade mixed plastics waste to various products (e.g., electricity, fuels, virgin polymers, and lubricant oil). The analysis determines that the absorption of chlorine in columns with basic aqueous solutions is limited to plastics waste with PVC concentrations below 0.1%. Dissolution in ionic liquids is not cost-competitive. On the contrary, two-step processes with catalytic dechlorination followed by thermochemical catalytic depolymerization, either pyrolysis or hydrogenolysis, significantly improve process economics and emissions. The most economically viable alternative is hydrogenolysis for producing lubricants, while the technology with the lowest global warming potential is chemical recycling via catalytic pyrolysis.

circular economy↗