10th Green & Sustainable Chemistry Conference: Presentation on Power-to-Methanol at Wastewater Treatment Plants
Fabio Voit and Lukas Hammerschick from FiW e. V. presented current research findings at the 10th Green & Sustainable Chemistry Conference (18th to 20th of May) in Dresden. Topic of the talk was: “Unlocking energy flexibility and sector coupling at WWTPs through power-to-methanol: A dynamic energy system simulation study for the large-scale WWTP Bottrop.”
At the 10th Green & Sustainable Chemistry Conference in Dresden, Fabio Voit and Lukas Hammerschick from FiW e. V. presented the latest research findings on the integration of power-to-methanol systems at wastewater treatment plants. The findings were developed in collaboration with Niklas Höing and Thorsten Lind from the Emschergenossenschaft.
The oral presentation, titled “Unlocking energy flexibility and sector coupling at WWTPs through power-to-methanol: A dynamic energy system simulation study for the large-scale Bottrop WWTP,” examines the dynamic integration of a power-to-methanol plant into the energy system of the Bottrop wastewater treatment plant. The research focused on the question of how power-to-X technologies can contribute to increasing flexibility and reducing fossil fuel dependence in large wastewater treatment plants in the future. To this end, a dynamic energy system model of the Bottrop wastewater treatment plant was developed and validated using real operational data. Building on this, various scenarios for the integration of renewable energy, electrolysis, and methanol synthesis were examined. The results show that power-to-methanol systems can contribute not only to the material utilization of biogenic carbon but also simultaneously unlock additional flexibility potential in the wastewater treatment plant’s energy system. In particular, the study focused on the use of surplus electricity, the significant reduction of fossil fuel-based heat generation, and the cross-sectoral utilization of hydrogen, oxygen, and biomethane.
The written publication of the results in a peer-reviewed conference proceedings is currently in preparation.
The work was carried out as part of the E-BO(2)t project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport as part of the Funding Programme Renewable Fuels. The funding guideline for the development of renewable fuels is coordinated by NOW GmbH and supported by the project management agencies VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH and Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e. V. (Agency for Renewable Resources).
The FiW would also like to thank the conference organizer Elsevier and all participants for the professional exchange and the engaging discussions.
