RT Journal Article
T1 Process modelling and life cycle assessment of a carbon capture and conversion technology for methane production in indoor air and bioenergy environments
A1 Rebolledo Leiva, Ricardo
A1 Bolognesi, Silvia
A1 Bañeras, Lluis
A1 Puig, Sebastià
A1 González García, Sara
K1 CO2 uptake
K1 Bioethanol
K1 LCA
K1 Biogas
K1 Circular economy
K1 Renewable energy
AB The climate change crisis demands urgent action to prevent crossing tipping points that could jeopardize societal well-being. This research presents the process modelling and life cycle analysis (LCA) of a novel carbon capture and conversion system referred to as the “De-cent concept” (decentralised mitigation technology of CO2 emissions). This innovative system is designed to capture CO2 and convert it into methane suitable for grid injection, also providing high quality air. The technology consists of an absorption/desorption unit for CO2 concentration and a bio-electrochemical system for methane conversion. The potential implementation of this system is first modelled using process simulation software (SuperPro Designer® v11) to obtain the mass and energy balances of methane production, considering two environments: indoor air and apple-based bioethanol production. Next, the environmental impacts of methane production, as well as the integration of the conversion technology into a bioethanol biorefinery, are assessed using the LCA methodology. Additionally, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to enhance the environmental performance of the products (methane and bioethanol) by identifying critical hotspots in these scenarios. The results indicate that methane production in indoor environments could represent a promising approach to low or even negative carbon emissions (in the ‘cradle to gate’ scope) when renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic systems support the technology’s electricity supply. Furthermore, the environmental impact of bioethanol production could be reduced by approximately 55% to 84% by integrating carbon capture and conversion technology, together with renewable energy sources, into the design of the biorefinery. This research highlights the potential for energy generation in indoor environments and highly rich in CO2 industrial streams, and the development of bioenergy models that simultaneously capture carbon and generate methane.
PB Elsevier
SN 0196-8904
YR 2026
FD 2026-03-15
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/46780
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/46780
LA eng
NO Rebolledo-Leiva, R., Bolognesi, S., Bañeras, L., Puig, S., & González-García, S. (2026). Process modelling and life cycle assessment of a carbon capture and conversion technology for methane production in indoor air and bioenergy environments. Energy Conversion and Management, 352, 121087. 10.1016/j.enconman.2026.121087
NO This publication is part of the R&D project de-CENT (“Portable bioelectrochemical modules for decentralised mitigation of CO2 emissions using surplus energy”, ref. TED2021–129452B-100), funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/and, by the European Union Next GenerationEU/PRTR. LEQUIA and EcoAQUA have been recognized as consolidated research groups (2021 SGR01352 and 2021 SGR01142, respectively) by the Catalan Government. S.P. is a Serra Húnter Fellow (UdG-AG-575) and gratefully acknowledges funding from the AGAUR-ICREA Academia Programme, supported by the Department of Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia. S.G.G. belongs to the Galician Competitive Research Group (GRC ED431C 2025/19) and to the Cross-disciplinary Research in Environmental Technologies (CRETUS Research Center, ED431G 2023/12)
DS Minerva
RD 18 abr 2026