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Life cycle, techno-economic and dynamic simulation assessment of bioelectrochemical systems: a case of formic acid synthesis

Life cycle, techno-economic and dynamic simulation assessment of bioelectrochemical systems: a case of formic acid synthesis
Life cycle, techno-economic and dynamic simulation assessment of bioelectrochemical systems: a case of formic acid synthesis

A novel framework, integrating dynamic simulation (DS), life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic assessment (TEA) of a bioelectrochemical system (BES), has been developed to study for the first time wastewater treatment by removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) by oxidation in anode and thereby harvesting electron and proton for carbon dioxide reduction reaction or reuse to produce products in cathode. Increases in initial COD and applied potential increase COD removal and production (in this case formic acid) rates. DS correlations are used in LCA and TEA for holistic performance analyses. The cost of production of HCOOH is €0.015–0.005 g−1 for its production rate of 0.094–0.26 kg yr−1 and a COD removal rate of 0.038–0.106 kg yr−1. The life cycle (LC) benefits by avoiding fossil-based formic acid production (93%) and electricity for wastewater treatment (12%) outweigh LC costs of operation and assemblage of BES (−5%), giving a net 61MJkg−1 HCOOH saving.

Carbon dioxide capture and reuse, Circular economy, Electrochemical biorefinery, Resource recovery and productivity from waste, Technical systems for policy
0960-8524
39-49
Shemfe, Mobolaji
cced96f3-0688-499e-b221-2f2ad23ee4b5
Gadkari, Siddharth
32ff24ba-eaad-4acd-82fa-fb59bb45ff0a
Yu, Eileen
28e47863-4b50-4821-b80b-71fb5a2edef2
Rasul, Shahid
482cda2a-0a01-4f15-846a-c4aa2f73b824
Scott, Keith
38909157-296d-4fe7-a245-1b98e1fee913
Head, Ian M.
45e5ea84-bd86-4ffd-a6e3-64b23dc711d2
Gu, Sai
a6f7af91-4731-46fe-ac4d-3081890ab704
Sadhukhan, Jhuma
7b83ac24-93c1-445a-972c-df8b88c6dae1
Shemfe, Mobolaji
cced96f3-0688-499e-b221-2f2ad23ee4b5
Gadkari, Siddharth
32ff24ba-eaad-4acd-82fa-fb59bb45ff0a
Yu, Eileen
28e47863-4b50-4821-b80b-71fb5a2edef2
Rasul, Shahid
482cda2a-0a01-4f15-846a-c4aa2f73b824
Scott, Keith
38909157-296d-4fe7-a245-1b98e1fee913
Head, Ian M.
45e5ea84-bd86-4ffd-a6e3-64b23dc711d2
Gu, Sai
a6f7af91-4731-46fe-ac4d-3081890ab704
Sadhukhan, Jhuma
7b83ac24-93c1-445a-972c-df8b88c6dae1

Shemfe, Mobolaji, Gadkari, Siddharth, Yu, Eileen, Rasul, Shahid, Scott, Keith, Head, Ian M., Gu, Sai and Sadhukhan, Jhuma (2018) Life cycle, techno-economic and dynamic simulation assessment of bioelectrochemical systems: a case of formic acid synthesis. Bioresource Technology, 255, 39-49. (doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2018.01.071).

Record type: Article

Abstract

A novel framework, integrating dynamic simulation (DS), life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic assessment (TEA) of a bioelectrochemical system (BES), has been developed to study for the first time wastewater treatment by removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) by oxidation in anode and thereby harvesting electron and proton for carbon dioxide reduction reaction or reuse to produce products in cathode. Increases in initial COD and applied potential increase COD removal and production (in this case formic acid) rates. DS correlations are used in LCA and TEA for holistic performance analyses. The cost of production of HCOOH is €0.015–0.005 g−1 for its production rate of 0.094–0.26 kg yr−1 and a COD removal rate of 0.038–0.106 kg yr−1. The life cycle (LC) benefits by avoiding fossil-based formic acid production (93%) and electricity for wastewater treatment (12%) outweigh LC costs of operation and assemblage of BES (−5%), giving a net 61MJkg−1 HCOOH saving.

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Accepted/In Press date: 15 January 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 4 February 2018
Published date: 4 February 2018
Keywords: Carbon dioxide capture and reuse, Circular economy, Electrochemical biorefinery, Resource recovery and productivity from waste, Technical systems for policy

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 499203
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/499203
ISSN: 0960-8524
PURE UUID: 2c0924fe-69cf-4924-85b4-e93918c52c39
ORCID for Eileen Yu: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6872-975X

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Date deposited: 12 Mar 2025 17:31
Last modified: 22 Aug 2025 02:45

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Contributors

Author: Mobolaji Shemfe
Author: Siddharth Gadkari
Author: Eileen Yu ORCID iD
Author: Shahid Rasul
Author: Keith Scott
Author: Ian M. Head
Author: Sai Gu
Author: Jhuma Sadhukhan

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