The investment requirements are shown in
Table 6-4 with $388 MM estimated for total purchased equipment cost (TPEC), $1.2 BB for total installed costs (TIC), $1.8 BB as fixed capital investment (FCI), and $2.1 BB as the total investment cost. The breakdown of TPEC is shown in Figure 6-2 with $244 MM, $0.2 MM, $57 MM, and $86 MM estimates for electrolyzer, water-gas shift, Fischer-Tropsch, and Hydroprocessing areas respectively accounting for 63%, 0.06%, 15%, and 22% respectively of TPEC. To our knowledge, there is limited literature of techno-economics for CO2
electrochemical conversion. Oloman and Li [15] reported a 100 MTPD CO2 plant producing formate/ formic acid. They assumed 80% current efficiency, 100% selectivity of formate, 100% conversion, negative carbon credit ($10-1000/metric tonne), and electricity price of 0.01 to 0.10 $/kWh. They estimated $80.62 MM in 2011-dollar value ($MM 70 in 2005-dollar value) for the electrolyzer alone installed cost and $195.80 MM in 2011-dollar value ($MM 170 in 2005-dollar value) as the installed plant cost and 40 MW of required electricity.
Comparing this analysis with that of Oloman and Li [15], the plant capacity is twenty times (20X) larger, the electrolyzer cost estimate is approximately three times (3X) higher, and the installed cost is six times (6X) higher. The high cost of the electrolyzer could be attributed to the high installation cost factor used to develop a more conservative estimate. The electrolyzer costing and full equipment list is provided in APPENDIX D.
Figure 6-2: Total purchased equipment cost of CO2 electrochemical conversion to F-T fuels.
The operating costs and minimum product selling price are shown in The estimated MPSP for this analysis is $4.69/GG and the estimates from Swanson et al., [14] using gasification to produce F-T fuel were $4.30/GGE for high-temperature (1300°C) scenario and $4.80/GGE for low-temperature scenario (870°C) with a capital investment of $610 MM and $500 MM respectively. The difference with Swanson et al., [14] scenarios was attributed to difference in yields and carbon efficiency. Swanson et al., [14] went ahead to estimate the capital
requirement as $1.4 BB and $1.1 BB and MPSP of $7.60/GGE and $8.10/GGE of a pioneer plant for high temperature and low-temperature scenarios respective.
Table 6-5. General maintenance, insurance and taxes, CO2 capture price, and renewable electricity annual operating costs are $14 MM, $13 MM, $11 MM and $7 MM respectively.
WGS-catalyst, FT catalyst, and pressure swing adsorption packing costs are $4 MM, $5 MM,
$0.07 MM respectively and these are incurred in the first year and thereafter every three years [21].
Table 6-4: Investment requirement of CO2 electrochemical conversion to F-T fuels.
Parameter Assumption Cost
($MM)
Total purchased equipment cost (TPEC) 1 388
Purchased equipment installation 0.39 151
Instrumentation and controls 0.26 101
Piping 0.1 39
Electrical systems 0.31 120
Buildings (including services) 0.29 112
Yard improvements 0.12 47
Service facilities 0.55 213
Total installed cost (TIC) 3.02*TPEC 1170
Engineering 0.32 124
Construction 0.34 132
Legal and contractor’s fees 0.23 89
Indirect cost (IC) 0.89*TPEC 345
Total direct and indirect costs (TDIC) TIC + IC 1515
Contingency 20% of TDIC 303
Fixed capital investment (FCI) TDIC +
Contingency 1818
Working capital (WC) 15% of FCI 273
Land use 6% of TPEC 23
Total capital investment (with land) FCI+ WC + Land 2114
The estimated MPSP for this analysis is $4.69/GG and the estimates from Swanson et al., [14]
using gasification to produce F-T fuel were $4.30/GGE for high-temperature (1300°C) scenario and $4.80/GGE for low-temperature scenario (870°C) with a capital investment of
$610 MM and $500 MM respectively. The difference with Swanson et al., [14] scenarios was attributed to difference in yields and carbon efficiency. Swanson et al., [14] went ahead to estimate the capital requirement as $1.4 BB and $1.1 BB and MPSP of $7.60/GGE and
$8.10/GGE of a pioneer plant for high temperature and low-temperature scenarios respective.
Table 6-5: Operating costs and MPSP of CO2 electrochemical conversion to F-T fuels.
Operating costs $MM
CO2 11.20
Water 0.76
WGS-catalyst 3.66
FT-catalyst 4.75
Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) packing 0.07
Renewable electricity 7.04
Other utilities 0.39
Wastewater 0.06
Total Salaries 2.99
Overhead 2.84
Maintenance (other areas) 13.43
Maintenance (electrolyzer area) 0.23
Insurance & Taxes 12.73
Minimum Product Selling Price ($/gal GGE) 4.69
6.4.3 Sensitivity Analysis Results
The sensitivity analysis on the minimum product selling price (MPSP) results are as shown in Figure 6-3. The MPSP computed is $4.69/ gal of GGE (The estimated MPSP for this analysis is $4.69/GG and the estimates from Swanson et al., [14] using gasification to produce
F-T fuel were $4.30/GGE for high-temperature (1300°C) scenario and $4.80/GGE for low-temperature scenario (870°C) with a capital investment of $610 MM and $500 MM respectively. The difference with Swanson et al., [14] scenarios was attributed to difference in yields and carbon efficiency. Swanson et al., [14] went ahead to estimate the capital requirement as $1.4 BB and $1.1 BB and MPSP of $7.60/GGE and $8.10/GGE of a pioneer plant for high temperature and low-temperature scenarios respective.
Table 6-5) assuming 160 days in a year of operation. The MPSP drops to $2.21/gal when the days of operation are increased to 350 days/year. The MPSP is mostly influenced by F-T GGE yield that makes MPSP fluctuate in the range of $3.91/GGE to $5.86/GGE, FCI fluctuates the MPSP in the range of $3.86/GGE to $5.53/GGE, IRR makes MPSP fluctuate in the range of $4.11/GGE to $5.28/GGE, and CO2 capture price makes MPSP fluctuate in the range of $4.66/GGE to $4.72/GGE. The least influential parameters are water price, pressure swing adsorption packing, and electricity cost.
Figure 6-3: Sensitivity analysis results of CO2 electrochemical conversion to F-T fuels.
6.5 Conclusions
This analysis considered a 2000 MTPD CO2 biorefinery producing Fischer-Tropsch fuel (GGE) requiring $388 MM as total purchased equipment cost (TPEC), $1.2 BB for total installed costs (TIC), $1.8 BB as fixed capital investment (FCI) and $2.1 BB as the total investment cost.
The estimated MPSP is $4.69/gal of GGE and is mostly influenced by F-T GGE yield, fixed capital investment (FCI), internal rate of return (IRR), CO2 capture price whereas the least influential parameters are water price, pressure swing adsorption packing, and electricity cost. The number of operating hour/year also affect the MPSP.
Electrochemical conversion of CO2 is a promising technology still in the early stages of development with promising results to be used to produce fuels instead of causing global warming and/or its sequestration. More research is needed to ascertain electrolyzer use on a commercial scale.
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