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Design of Dimethyl Carbonate (DMC) Synthesis Process Using CO 2 , Techno-economic Analysis, and Life Cycle Assessment
Abstract
To successfully attain the objective of carbon neutrality, the active incorporation of carbon capture utilization (CCU) technology
becomes imperative within the engineering framework. This technology facilitates the generation of high value-added
materials by harnessing carbon dioxide, sourced from either the atmosphere or industrial processes, as a fundamental raw
material. Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) is an environmentally friendly chemical that can be produced using CCU technology.
This study fi rst models the base process of the ethylene carbonate (EC) transesterifi cation method that produces DMC based
on carbon dioxide, ethylene oxide (EO), and methanol (MeOH). Based on this, three processes for recycling by-products,
ethylene glycol (EG) and EC, are proposed, and economic analysis and overall environmental impact evaluation are conducted.
Each process is modeled through Aspen Plus V12.1, economic feasibility is evaluated through Aspen Process Economic
Analyzer (APEA), and environmental impact is evaluated through OpenLCA. As a result, the fi nal DMC production
is increased by 0.644–18.9% compared to the base process in the process of recycling by-products. In the base process, the
net present value (NPV) and payback period (PBP) were 46 M$ and 8.3 years, respectively, and in the proposed 1 (recycling
EG) and proposed 3 (recycling EG and EC) processes, the NPV was 231 M$ and 73 M$, respectively, and the PBP was 3.8
and 7.4 years, respectively. In the proposed 2 process (with EC recycling), a substantial negative net present value (NPV) of
− 135 M$ was observed, indicating that recovering the investment cost was unfeasible within this scenario. Through sensitivity
analysis, it was shown that the parameters with high volatility of NPV are DMC price and raw material cost. Finally, the
result for climate change among the environmental impact categories is 3.85 kgCO2−eq in the base process, 3.47 kgCO2−eq in
the proposed 1 process, 3.57 kgCO2−eq in the proposed 2 process, and 3.33 kgCO2−eq in the proposed 3 process, respectively.
