| Title: |
A techno-economic comparison of biological and chemical routes for CO2 methanation in renewable LNG production |
| Authors: |
Visonà, Marco; Orellana, Esteban; Treu, Laura; Barbera, Elena |
| Contributors: |
Visonà, Marco; Orellana, Esteban; Treu, Laura; Barbera, Elena |
| Publisher Information: |
Elsevier Ltd |
| Publication Year: |
2026 |
| Collection: |
Padua Research Archive (IRIS - Università degli Studi di Padova) |
| Subject Terms: |
Anaerobic digestion; Biomethanation; Liquefied Natural Ga; Power-to-ga; Process simulation |
| Description: |
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) has recently emerged as a promising substitute maritime fuel, due to its potential of reducing GHG emissions with respect to heavy fuel oils. This paper analyses and compares from a techno-economic point of view different technological pathways for renewable LNG production to be used as bunker fuel in North-Eastern Italy. Specifically, CO2 hydrogenation (a process also known as methanation) is considered, either starting from carbon dioxide captured from industrial flue gases (e-LNG), or from the biogas obtained via anaerobic digestion of biomass (bio-LNG). Moreover, both chemical (via the Sabatier reaction) and biological (exploiting hydrogenotrophic microorganisms) methanation have been considered. Results show that the bio-LNG route is more economically feasible with a Levelized Cost of Methane (LCOM) of about 150 €/MWh, but feedstock availability strongly limits the LNG throughput. On the other hand, the e-LNG route can reach larger production capacity, with a LCOM of around 200 €/MWh. Biological methanation is currently slightly less profitable compared to the chemical route mainly due to large investment costs, however technological advancements could significantly improve the economic performances. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:001696434800001; volume:106; journal:JOURNAL OF CO2 UTILIZATION; https://hdl.handle.net/11577/3586259 |
| DOI: |
10.1016/j.jcou.2026.103368 |
| Availability: |
https://hdl.handle.net/11577/3586259; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2026.103368 |
| Rights: |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess ; license:Creative commons ; license uri:http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.41EAA49E |
| Database: |
BASE |