(121c) Life-Cycle and Techno-Economic Analysis of Fischer-Tropsch Fuel Production Using Waste CO2

Electro-fuel (E-fuel) has received increasing interest due to its potential to reduce dependence of on fossil fuels and to help mitigate climate change. Among commonly researched E-fuels, Fischer–Tropsch (FT) fuel is most compatible with conventional transportation fuels widely used for heavy-duty vehicles and non-road transportation applications.

This study modeled the FT fuel synthesis process using Aspen Plus. The life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) have been conducted using GREET 2020 and H2A economic analysis model. The U.S. national FT fuel production capacity and carbon reduction potential has been evaluated by considering CO₂ captured from six industrial applications (ethanol, ammonia, natural gas [NG] processing, hydrogen, cement, and iron/steel production plants), and two fossil power generation technologies (coal and NG).

Our results show that FT fuels from various plant designs using renewable or nuclear power have near zero greenhouse gas emissions. However, when the H₂ price is at $2.0/kg (2020 DOE target), the MFSP of the FT fuel is 74-90% higher than the pre-tax petroleum diesel price of $3.1/gal in 2050. A total of 1,600 million metric ton per year of waste CO₂ can be captured and converted into 85 billion gallons of FT fuels in U.S. The FT fuels can potentially substitute for 36% of the total U.S. petroleum fuels used in the transportation sector. The total CO₂ reduction potential associated with FT fuels production is 935 MMT/year when replacing corresponding fossil fuels.