By: Franyi Sarmiento, Ph.D., Inspenet, June 29, 2022
A research team from the universities of Jaén, Rey Juan Carlos de Madrid, the Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies and ETH Zürich has conducted the first study that considers the impact on social conditions in the process of establishing green methanol, a renewable chemical product that is less polluting than its fossil-based analogue and has multiple applications.
The work explores the entire cycle of the production process to detect the social risks at each stage, including the acquisition of the raw materials necessary for its production.
Green methanol can be obtained directly from biomass or by hydrogenation of carbon dioxide. That is, carbon dioxide molecules captured directly from the atmosphere undergo a chemical reaction and are combined with hydrogen obtained from water through a process called electrolysis carried out, in this case, with renewable energy sources. This makes production more sustainable as it does not require fossil fuel sources, as is the case with the traditional one, which comes from natural gas.
Although the production of green methanol is more environmentally friendly, the production cost is still higher than traditional methanol. Experts point out in the article ‘Social life cycle assessment of green methanol and benchmarking against conventional fossil methanol’, published in the journal Science of The Total Environment, that it is an alternative with great potential to decarbonize the chemical industry and other sectors.
In addition, they highlight its versatility of use as a raw material, fuel or energy vector. They also emphasize the multiple possibilities it offers as it is liquid at room temperature. In this way, it can be easily stored and transported. Even so, they state the need to continue improving their production in order to achieve greater profitability in all aspects.
In the study, the experts analyzed the social impact on the entire green methanol manufacturing process, from the production of the energy required in the technology used or in the materials of the wind turbines, inverters and converters required for wind power generation. At the same time, they have compared it to the footprint of the traditional one.
The research results provide an unfavorable performance of renewable methanol under negative social indicators. This is mainly due to the fact that the supply chain for the production of this chemical is more complex, which implies greater risks in activities that take place in other countries.
“Despite this, it would improve the conventional one in terms of its contribution to local economic development, since it would benefit from the increase in working hours required in its production and, therefore, in the increase of jobs”, says Ángel Galán, researcher at the University of Jaén, author of the article, to the Descubre Foundation.
This material from the Dicyt portal was edited for clarity, style and length.
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