CARBON FIBERS WHICH CAN BE PRODUCED REGENERATIVELY OR PART-REGENERATIVELY FROM CO2 USING COMBINED PRODUCTION METHODS

Abstract

The invention describes carbon fibers which are produced on the basis of different process chains from CO2. These include routes through natural resources such as algal biomass to produce carbon fiber precursors such as PAN from CO2, as well as the purely synthetic route via the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, which is also used to make CO2 carbon fiber precursors. In this way, CO2 from anthropogenic origin is to be converted into a solid aggregate state of carbon fiber, which can be disposed of at the end of its life cycle, after being used as highly valuable building material for industry and man, for the construction of buildings and vehicles. These processes produce by-products such as biodiesel and nutrients that generate added value. The production volumes of the resulting substances should be controllable by combining the methods presented here. Some of these processes alone have no long-term climate relevance because of the high costs, but in the initial phase of such a development with the help of carbon dioxide certificates or socio-political necessities they are able to quickly show that carbon fiber building materials can be produced which by themselves are made from CO2 and at least have the quality to be used in the construction sector and for example are feasible to replace steel, in that the paradigm of todays material production being CO2-positive, can be turned into the opposite. If the processes—which have the disadvantage of large-area consumption on the one hand and the of the lack of energy efficiency in the longer term on the other—can be coupled, they have the potential to support each other. By combining the methods, land use and costs can be adjusted to current regional economic performance based on the material paradigm of the future of carbon-negative production of carbon fibers, also depending on the current evolution of CO2 emission allowance prices. The invention has the desired effect in climate policy that high-tech technology transfer can take place into the currently disadvantaged regions of the world, which promotes the economic performance of today's disadvantaged regions and in particular creates the urgently needed jobs in these regions.

Claims

1. A process of producing polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fibers comprising a combination of two or more of the following steps: a) producing algae biomass by utilizing sequestered or natural CO.sub.2; separating polyacrylonitrile triglycerides from said algae biomass; splitting said triglycerides into glycerol and algae oil/lipids; converting said glycerol into methanol using a glycerol to methanol (GtM) process; converting said methanol into propylene via a methanol to propylene (Mobil) process; producing acrylonitrile from said propylene via an acrylonitrile-synthesis (Sohio) process; and, obtaining polyacrylonitrile from said acrylonitrile via a polyacrylonitrile-fiber production (DRALON) process; b) producing biomass by utilizing sequestered or natural CO.sub.2; liquefaction of said biomass and methanol synthesis via a biomass to liquid (BtL) process with conversion into methanol; converting said methanol produced from step “b)” into propylene via a methanol to propylene (Mobil) process; producing acrylonitrile from said propylene via an acrylonitrile-synthesis (Sohio) process; and, obtaining polyacrylonitrile from said acrylonitrile via a polyacrylonitrile-fiber production (DRALON) process; c) producing biomass by utilizing sequestered or natural CO.sub.2; separating triglycerides from said biomass; splitting said triglycerides into glycerol and oil/lipids; converting said glycerol into methanol using a glycerol to methanol (GtM) process as a first source of methanol; converting said oil/lipids into methanol as a second source of methanol through esterification of said oil/lipids and an auto-thermal reforming—AtR process of the esterification product—into synthesis gas and its conversion via methanol synthesis into methanol; converting the methanol from both the first source and the second source into propylene via a methanol to propylene (Mobil) process; producing acrylonitrile from said propylene via an acrylonitrile-synthesis (Sohio) process; and, obtaining polyacrylonitrile from said acrylonitrile via a polyacrylonitrile-fiber production (DRALON) process; d) producing methanol from CO.sub.2 reforming by a reverse water-gas shift reaction and a Fischer-Tropsch synthesis utilizing H.sub.2, by conversion of CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2 into methanol; converting said methanol produced from step “d)” into propene or propylene via a methanol to propylene (Mobil) process; producing acrylonitrile from said propene via an acrylonitrile-synthesis (Sohio) process; and, obtaining polyacrylonitrile from said acrylonitrile via a polyacrylonitrile-fiber production (DRALON) process.

2. The process of claim 1, further comprising obtaining oxygen required for the polyacrylonitrile-fiber production (DRALON) process from an electrolysis process of hydrogen production used in the process of producing methanol from CO.sub.2 reforming by the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.

3. The process of claim 1, further comprising obtaining the CO2 required for the polyacrylonitrile-fiber production (DRALON) process from at least one of: (i) flue gases from fossil power plants, (ii) process-related CO2 emissions from production of steel, cement or aluminum, (iii) natural sources.

4. The process of claim 1, further comprising obtaining the CO2 required for the polyacrylonitrile-fiber production (DRALON) process from flue gases of regenerative biodiesel power plants.

5. The process of claim 1, further comprising obtaining the CO2 required for the polyacrylonitrile-fiber production (DRALON) process from flue gases of natural biomass that has previously been generating electricity.

6. The process of claim 1, further comprising obtaining electricity required for the polyacrylonitrile-fiber production from a biomass-electricity conversion or other regenerative electricity.

7. The process of claim 1, further comprising producing the algae oil by utilizing algae that originate from algae cultivation basins and that absorb free CO2 from ambient air, the ambient air pumped under high pressure through designated nozzles directly to said algae.

Description

[0016] The following processes form the building blocks for the new process chains claimed in the claims of the application in order to produce polyacrylonitrile from CO2 via algal biomass for the production of bio-carbon fibers. 8 process chains are described below, as illustrated in FIGS. 1. to 8. and the sequence of the processes with the associated mass flows is described as follows:

[0017] 1. 1st Process Chain 1, Algae.fwdarw.Biodiesel Process.fwdarw.GtM.fwdarw.MOBIL (MtP).fwdarw.SOHIO.fwdarw.DRALON

[0018] a) without MeOH cycle and without energetic use of biodiesel

[0019] b) without MeOH cycle, with energetic biodiesel use

[0020] c) with MeOH cycle and without energetic use of biodiesel

[0021] d) with MeOH cycle and with energetic biodiesel use

[0022] 2. Process chain 2, algae.fwdarw.Biodiesel process.fwdarw.GtAN.fwdarw.DRALON

[0023] a) without energetic biodiesel use

[0024] b) with energetic biodiesel use

[0025] 3. Process Chain 3, Algae.fwdarw.BtL/MeOH Synthesis Process.fwdarw.MOBIL (MtP).fwdarw.SOHIO.fwdarw.DRALON

[0026] 4. Process chain 4, like 1 but with upstream MeOH production via BtL/MeOH synthesis

[0027] a) without energetic biodiesel use

[0028] b) with energetic biodiesel use

[0029] 5. Process chain 5, CO2.fwdarw.FTS+MeOH synthesis.fwdarw.MOBIL (MtP).fwdarw.SOHIO.fwdarw.DRALON

[0030] a) without upstream electrolysis for H2 supply

[0031] b) with upstream electrolysis for H2 supply

[0032] 6. Process chain 6, like 1 but with upstream MeOH production via FTS/MeOH synthesis

[0033] a) without energetic biodiesel use

[0034] b) with energetic biodiesel use

[0035] 7. Process chain 7, like 6 but with autothermal reforming (ATR) of biodiesel with partial biodiesel oxidation and FTS/MeOH synthesis

[0036] a) high-temperature ATR, air supply, max. syngas

[0037] b) low-temperature ATR, exclusion of air, max. propylene

[0038] c) as a) but with +9% CO2 feed towards FTS

[0039] d) like a) but with +50% CO2 feed towards FTS

[0040] 8. Process chain 8, like 7a but with upstream BtL/MeOH synth. for syngas use

[0041] a) 60% of the total biomass supply towards BtL

[0042] b) 90% of the total biomass supply towards BtL

[0043] 9. The legend for the processes described above with regard to the labeling in the figures is shown in FIG. 9:

[0044] A algae Growth in salt water, production of algae biomass from CO2

[0045] B algae process 1: separating into nutrients and triglycerides

[0046] C algae Process 2: Splitting the triglycerides into glycerol and light algae oils and lipids

[0047] D Biodiesel process: esterification of algae oil

[0048] E GtM-Process: Conversion of glycerol into methanol

[0049] F MtP-process (MOBIL-Process): Conversion of methanol into propylene (propene)

[0050] G SOHIO Process: Acrylonitrile Synthesis from Propylene

[0051] H DRALON-process: Alcrylonitrile Polymerization to polyacrylonitrile fibers (spinning solution in the spinning bath becomes PAN fibers)

[0052] X GtAN-Process (Fraunhofer patent): direct acrylonitrile synthesis from glycerol

[0053] Y BtL/MeOH process: liquefaction of algal biomass and methanol synthesis

[0054] Z FTS/MeOH process: CO2 cleavage by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and methanol synthesis

[0055] ATR autothermal reforming and partial oxidation of biodiesel

[0056] CHP CHP Unit for Combined Heat and Electricity Generation through Biodiesel Combustion

[0057] The process chains outlined in the accompanying drawings 1-9 and thus clearly described, are the basis of the production of bio-carbon fiber based on polyacrylonitrile (PAN), form the fundament for the following patent claims.