Development of the formic acid production process considering economic and environmental criteria

Abstract

Formic acid can easily decompose to hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Therefore, it receives attention from a candidate for chemical hydrogen storage. Conventional formic acid production is mainly based on the methyl formate hydrolysis process which uses carbon monoxide and water as raw materials. Another formic acid production route is the $CO_2$ hydrogenation process which uses carbon dioxide and hydrogen. This study focuses on the potential of formic acid as a hydrogen carrier. Thus, the purity of formic acid is 99 wt. %. Conventional formic acid production processes with different carbon monoxide production methods were simulated in Aspen Plus. And these two different feedstock routes were compared by techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment. Analyses are based on the mass and energy balance of the simulation. Also, the $CO_2$-based process was verified the economic and environmental feasibility with the completion of modeling. Finally, this study developed the newly integrated processes considering the byproduct which is either carbon monoxide or hydrogen from the steam and dry reforming. The proposed processes allow carbon monoxide to be used in the methyl formate hydrolysis process and hydrogen to be used in the $CO_2$ hydrogenation process. The economic and environmental sustainability of the proposed processes were also verified.