Download Electrification of chemistry – what is the synergy between plasma

Green Process Synth 2015; 4: 257
Editorial
Electrification of chemistry – what is the synergy
between plasma synthesis and chemical plant
modularization?
DOI 10.1515/gps-2015-0048
The advances in generating green energy from renewable,
non-fossil resources has led to a new kind of energy offer.
This is characterized by a fluctuating, volatile provision
of energy, demanding both for power savings and flexible solutions of energy uptake. The chemical industry
can be part of the latter pathway with its power-to-gas
and power-to-chemicals routes, making its contribution
to grid stabilization. For 2030, a volatile energy share of
54% is expected in Germany, accounting for 61.1 GW wind
and 62.8 GW photovoltaic energies, respectively [Deutsche
Energie-Agentur, dena-Netzstudie II, 2010]. About one
hundred years ago, some production trials were made
based on electrification of chemistry, namely in the field
of plasma chemistry. Seemingly these days, there is to be
expected a reentry of electrics into chemistry.
The city of Eindhoven has the challenging ambition to
become energy neutral by 2045. Recently, a collaboration
team between the city of Eindhoven, the university, and
industry, and a student team won the award “The Energy
Challenge”. The winning idea combines an energy saving
smart window with energy-harvesting “luminescent solar
concentrators (LSCs)”. The smart window reflects heat in
summer and allows it to pass through in winter.
This is a good example of innovation achieved at the
interface between chemistry (material science) and energy
for which we see many activities these days. Egbert-Jan Sol,
director High-Tech Systems and Materials at TNO (­ formerly
Philips and Ericsson), coined the term “chemergy” for this.
The reason why chemergy will become a major issue, at
least in Europe, is the predicted above-mentioned large
surplus for electricity and CO2. Then power-to-chemical
concepts are one of the solutions to make efficient use of
such extra energy according to Sol. Methanol is preferred
as it constitutes both a fuel and eminent platform chemical.
Sol predicts a technological rush for solar panels similar to
the large evolution of transistors made for computer chips.
Coming back to the power-to-chemicals concept,
there has been a recent forecast given by European roadmaps about the electrification of chemistry. One such
study, carrying the same name (in German), is made by
Dechema [Dechema, ISBN: 978-3-89746-168-0]. This idea
together with several other proposals has recently been
consolidated in an action catalogue proposed by the
Enquete Commission “Future of Chemical Industry in
Nordrhein-Westfalen”. The latter is the state in Germany
with the most chemical industry (Bayer, Henkel, Lanxess,
Evonik, etc. and several chemparks). The action catalogue
proclaims that electrochemical processes will play an
essential role, yet also refers to plasma processes. Integration of these into chemparks and power stations may
open a new chapter and challenge in chemistry’s Verbund
strategy. Beyond that, the distributed chemical manufacture directly at the site of wind and solar parks generation
offers another new window of opportunity.
As technology enablers, new mobile and compact
intensified production platforms in container format
provide new means of business models (‘plant on wheels’)
with their own distinct cash-flow and depreciation models
(modular plant growth, 50% idea). If this is combined with
plasma technology, abundantly available, cheap resources
such as air (N2, O2) or carbon dioxide (coming mostly from
industrial waste streams) could be converted into base
chemicals such as ammonia and nitric acid, leading to fertilizers, or methanol/syngas for platform chemicals.
The “Industrial Day” of the 22nd International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry (ISPC 22), held at the University of Antwerpen by 05.07.15, provides a large showcase
for such new business models and windows of opportunity. It may be worth going there. I will go.
Volker Hessel
Editor-in-Chief
e-mail: [email protected]
Unauthenticated
Download Date | 6/16/17 7:18 AM