CO2 utilization options .2. Assessment of dimethyl carbonate production

In this paper, the potential to reduce CO2 emissions from dimethyl carbonate production by switching from the traditional phosgene-based production to a urea-based CO2 utilization process is assessed. The total CO2 emission for each process is estimated, including emissions related to the carbon content of the products, energy consumption in the production process, and energy consumption in the production processes of the required reactants. Implementation of the CO2 utilization process probably will reduce total CO2 emissions. However, in order to achieve substantially reduced CO2 emissions, serious consideration must be given to the optimization and design of the CO2 utilization process. Furthermore, the fuel-mix employed is one of the factors that influences the total CO2 emission the most. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd