Simultaneous process synthesis, heat, power, and water integration of thermochemical hybrid biomass, coal, and natural gas facilities

A comprehensive wastewater network is introduced into a thermochemical based process superstructure that will convert biomass, coal, and natural gas to liquid (CBGTL) transportation fuels. The mixed-integer nonlinear optimization (MINLP) model includes simultaneous heat, power, and water integration that utilizes heat engines to recover electricity from waste heat and several treatment units to process and recycle wastewater. A total of 108 case studies are analyzed which consist of combinations of six coal feedstocks, three biomass feedstocks, three plant capacities, and two process superstructures. This study discusses important process topological differences between the case studies and illustrates each component of the process synthesis framework using the two medium-sized capacity case studies that have low-volatile bituminous coal and biomass feedstocks.

► Process superstructure will convert coal, biomass, and natural gas to liquid fuels. ► Simultaneous heat and power integration was incorporated using heat engines. ► Wastewater treatment network minimizes freshwater use. ► Proposed optimization framework was tested using 108 case studies. ► Illustrative case studies demonstrate process and wastewater network topologies.