Resumen:
Renewable methanol is commonly proposed either as biomethanol from biomass or biomethane reforming, or as e-methanol from CO2 hydrogenation using electrolytic hydrogen. This work proposes a third concept: CO2-self-sufficient biomethanol from biomethane, where biohydrogen and biogenic CO2 are internally produced through biomethane reforming with carbon capture and utilisation. Four process routes are assessed for Spain, combining conventional CO/H2 methanol synthesis and CO2/H2 hydrogenation. The proposed routes use biohydrogen rather than electrolytic hydrogen. In route 1 (baseline case), fossil methane and CO2 in conventional methanol production are replaced by renewable alternatives. Route 2 produces hydrogen and CO2 through steam biomethane reforming with carbon capture and utilisation, generating a CO2 surplus. Route 3 uses a fraction of biomethane to produce CO2 and biohydrogen, supplying the CO2 required by route 1 and yielding excess hydrogen. Finally, route 4 integrates routes 1 and 2, using the CO2 surplus from route 2 as feedstock for route 1. Routes 1 and 4 produce exclusively methanol and achieve the highest yields (108.6 t and 102.7 t per GWh-HHV of biomethane, respectively). All routes except route 1 are CO2 self-sufficient. A detailed techno-economic assessment of routes 1 and 4 gives methanol costs of 403–817 €/t and 496–933 €/t, respectively.
Palabras Clave: biomethanol; biomethane; biohydrogen; biogenic CO2
Índice de impacto JCR-JIF y cuartil WoS: 4,400 - Q2 (2025)
Referencia DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering13101183
Publicado en papel: Octubre 2026.
Publicado on-line: Octubre 2026.
Cita:
A. Rascón, J.I. Linares, A. Santos-Montes, E.M. Arenas, "CO2 Self-Sufficiency in Renewable Methanol Production from Biomethane and Biohydrogen: Techno-Economic Assessment for Spain", Bioengineering, Vol. 13, nº. 10, pp. 1183, Octubre 2026. [Online: Octubre 2026] doi: 10.3390/bioengineering13101183
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