Novel process for eco-efficient production of formic acid by CO2 hydrogenation

• Published in: Computer Aided Chemical Engineering Vol. 53; pp. 2659 - 2664
• Main Authors: Taube, Maximiliano, Barus, Amsalia, Kalmoukidis, Nikolaos, Staikos, Savvas, Mousazadeh, Farzad, Kiss, Anton A.
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: carbon dioxide; formic acid; process design; process intensification; formic acid; carbon dioxide; process intensification; process design
• ISBN: 9780443288241; 0443288240
• ISSN: 1570-7946
• DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-443-28824-1.50444-0

Valorization of carbon dioxide towards value added chemicals can drastically mitigate the increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere. In this context, formic acid is a versatile bulk chemical with promising market potential. The novel process design proposed in this work involves a sustainable thermochemical synthesis of formic acid from CO2, which is rigorously simulated using Aspen Plus V12 as a CAPE tool. The process relies on the reverse water-gas shift reaction (RWGS) to synthesize CO from green H2 and CO2. The purified CO is used for the synthesis of methyl formate, which is then hydrolyzed to produce formic acid. To address downstream processing energy intensity, a distillation column with a dividing wall (DWC) is employed. The designed process achieves high molar yields of 95% for CO2 and 96% for H2 with a specific energy intensity of 21.8 MJ/kg of formic acid. The new process achieves a substantial reduction of 51% in the CO2 emissions, 64% in electricity consumption and 20% in steam usage as compared to conventional fossil fuel-based FA production plants (reference case).