Techno-economic feasibility analysis of hydrogen recovery in bio-hydrogenated diesel from palm oil for methanol synthesis via aspen plus

Abstract

A bio-hydrogenated diesel (BHD) or green diesel can be produced from refined palm oil obtained from palm oil refinery. A simulation model of BHD production process from palm oil is developed by Aspen Plus. The conventional process which is the heterogeneous catalytic hydro-deoxygenation reaction of triglycerides required high H2/oil volumetric ratio. To reduce high hydrogen loss in gaseous by-product, the design of hydrogen gas recovery process of the BHD process by coupling with methanol synthesis is proposed. The two processes (i.e., conventional BHD process and BHD process coupled with methanol synthesis) are compared in terms of hydrogen recovery and economic indicators. The second process can recover 46.3 percent of discharged hydrogen and reduces 14 percent of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emission. Furthermore, it provides high rate of return of 39.65 percent, payback period of 1.68 years, and net present value of 65.57 million US dollars.