A1: Industrial Areas– CO₂ Scrubbing in Industrial Areas

Especially in the steel, cement and chemical industries, numerous exhaust gas streams containing CO₂ occur. One way of extracting CO₂ for methanol production is by separating it from industrial waste gases. In this work package, the most efficient ways to achieve this are to be worked out. The project is managed by Forschungszentrum Jülich. Experience with the separation of CO₂ in power plant operation can already be drawn from various projects. Innogy supports as a partner and also brings experience in CO₂ separation from industrial gases with it.

A2: Rural Areas – Carbon from Biomass and Municipal Waste

Here too, Forschungszentrum Jülich is working together with Innogy on ways of most effectively separating CO₂ from various biomass material flows. The final step is the technical evaluation of the processes. The focus is on the use of whole plants with maximum carbon yield and the use of waste streams. Here too, Forschungszentrum Jülich is working together with Innogy as a partner.

A3: Desert

Under the direction of the Jülich Research Centre and Innogy as partners, processes of CO₂ separation from the air will be considered and evaluated in this work package. It will be investigated how, and with what effort, carbon dioxide can be separated from the air or whether the transport of industrial CO₂ streams is ultimately more advantageous. There are already existing plants and a number of studies for this process, but it is always associated with high costs and high technical expenditures. Further development is not the focus of C³-Mobility.

A4: Elektrolysis

Different processes can be used for electrolysis.

The electrolysis techniques investigated in C³-Mobility include alkaline electrolysis, PEM water electrolysis and SOEC high-temperature electrolysis. The co-electrolysis of CO₂ and H₂ also plays a role, but at Forschungszentrum Jülich it is rather looked at other projects more detailed. The required data are made available for C³-Mobility. Innogy also acts as a partner here.

Co-Electrolysis, for example, is ideally suited for converting green electricity into chemical energy sources. The greatest advantage here is the high capacity and low loss compared to other energy storage systems. These can be used directly in chemical process engineering, for example, or further processed into alternative fuels. The further processing of the synthesis gas to methanol is decisive for C³-Mobility.

A5: Methanol Synthesis

The production of methanol is also possible on the basis of methanol synthesis from synthesis gas (CO, H2) and from CO₂-H₂ mixtures, whereby the process is similar to that of electrolysis. The aim is to use sustainable energy sources to produce large quantities of hydrogen from water, which is then converted into methanol by reaction with carbon dioxide. The resulting liquid methanol can then be stored and transported very easily. The aim of this work package is the process engineering evaluation of the methanol synthesis from CO₂ and H₂, under the cooperation of Forschungszentrum Jülich with Innogy and Chemieanlagenbau Chemnitz.