Technoeconomic and Emissions Analysis of the Hybrid Redox Process for the Production of Acetic Acid with CO₂ Utilization

Abstract The production of oxygenated hydrocarbons, such as acetic acid, using captured CO₂ is a promising pathway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the chemical industry. The use of a chemical looping‐based hybrid redox process (HRP) is proposed to convert CO₂ and natural gas into separate CO and syngas streams that can be used to produce various commodity oxygenates, while allowing the beneficial utilization of captured CO₂. Here, a detailed technoeconomic analysis of HRP applied to the production of acetic acid is presented. Emissions and energy analyses show the ability of HRP to lower the CO₂ emissions for acetic acid synthesis by 74% compared to a conventional steam and autothermal reforming route. HRP also offers a potential 34% reduction in capital costs. Compared to a dry reforming based acetic acid production route, HRP has the potential for significantly lower costs. If integrated with a low carbon energy source, HRP has the potential to achieve a negative emission of greenhouse gas (‐0.50 kg CO₂ per kg acetic acid).