Comparative life cycle assessment and economic analysis of methanol/hydrogen production processes for fuel cell vehicles

The life cycle assessment (LCA) of hydrogen/methanol production processes connected with hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (HFCV) and methanol reformer-embedded fuel cell vehicle (MRFCV) are addressed. According to the scope definition of well-to-wheel and the four steps of LCA methodology, the ReCiPe endpoint score of the natural gas-fed methanol production process named by SC1(MeOH) is up to 2.06 kPt, which is higher than the natural gas-fed hydrogen production process called SC2(H2) by 50.3%. The new biomethanol production process termed by SC3(M)(eOH), which is a combination of anaerobic co-digestion, microalgae production process, and combined heat and power (CHP), is validated to reduce the environmental impact of SC1(MeO)(H) by 93.6% due to wheat straw (waste) and microalgae as inlet sources, almost zero air pollutants, 58% carbons stored in the soil of the wheatland, and no grid supply. A comparative LCA shows that the MRFCV connected with SC3(MeO)(H) is lower than the HFCV associated with SC2(H2) by 40%. The Levelized cost of methanol (LCOM) for SC3(MeO)(H) (about 3.08USD/kgMeOH) is higher than SC1(MeOH) by 18.6%. These comparisons show that the MRFCV connected with SC3(MeO)(H) is an HFVC for green cars due to relatively low investments in storage facilities and transport and minimum environmental impacts. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study discusses the life cycle assessment of hydrogen/methanol production processes connected with hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCV) and methanol reformer-embedded fuel cell vehicles (MRFCV). By comparing the environmental impacts of different production processes, it is concluded that the MRFCV associated with SC3(MeO)(H) is more environmentally friendly and cost-effective than the HFCV associated with SC2(H2).