Petrochemical Complex CO₂ Reduction Master Plan

Today’s energy companies are under tremendous pressure to quantify sustainability goals and reduce emissions throughout the enterprise. But moving from knowledge to execution to capturing benefits can be daunting for many companies, especially with so many factors in play to advance meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Beginning with a careful and comprehensive master plan that considers a facility’s unique business drivers and assets can be a wise first step in building an effective decarbonization strategy.

A large Gulf Coast petrochemical and resin company engaged Lummus Consultants to provide a master plan study to assess options for CO₂ reduction. The scope of the master plan study included evaluation of the client’s process streams and utilities for CO₂ reduction initiatives, including the following:

• amine-based, post-combustion carbon capture
• oxy-fueled combustion for process furnaces as well as boilers
• conversion to 100% hydrogen (the client was already burning hydrogen-enriched fuel gas) using methane reformation and electrolysis
• use of renewables (both onsite and grid supplied)
• electrification of process heaters
• combustion air pre-heating of process heaters

Also included in the scope of the project was an evaluation of CO₂ utilization technologies applicable to the location and processes, as well as costs of CO₂ compression, transportation and sequestration.

The results helped to determine technical and economic feasibility by concluding on a $/ton CO₂-reduced basis which options made the most sense to take to a more detailed, pre-front-end engineering design phase. With the master plan in place, the client could move forward with confidence, knowing which decarbonization solutions would provide the most impact and likelihood of success in achieving corporate greenhouse gas reduction goals.