Integrated Process Design and Life Cycle Assessment of Carbon Monoxide Provision from Basic Oxygen Furnace Gas

Vacuum pressure swing adsorption (VPSA) processes are promising separation technologies to recover valuable compounds from industrial off-gases. In this work, the separation of CO from basic oxygen furnace gas (BOFG) with a three-bed VPSA process for high-purity applications using a dynamic process model is analyzed. The analysis evaluates technical operating ranges for providing 99.9 % pure CO and assesses system-wide environmental impacts using life cycle assessment. The results show that CO from BOFG as feedstock for chemicals reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by about 10 % for Germany's current grid mix regardless whether the VPSA process operates at maximum productivity (0.18 Nm(3)h(-1)kg(ads)(-1)) or maximum recovery (95.7 %). Further reduction in GHG emissions by up to 68 % can be achieved using renewable energy albeit increasing other environmental impacts such as mineral and metal depletion. Overall, VPSA offers a viable, short-term solution for providing low-carbon CO from BOFG.

Automated summary

This study analyzes the separation of CO from BOFG using a three-bed VPSA process and evaluates its technical operating ranges and environmental impacts. The results show that VPSA offers a viable solution for providing low-carbon CO and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.