Decarbonization of Oil Refineries through Electrification and Low-Carbon Feedstocks

Chemical Process Industries must navigate a series of changes in their operations to comply with increasing sustainability targets. These changes may involve the use of electricity-based operations, the implementation of carbon capture strategies, and the use of biomass or end-of-life carbon-containing waste as feedstocks. De-carbonizing oil refineries is particularly challenging as they possess highly valuable infrastructure. Discarding this infrastructure before the end of its life to build entirely new electric and biomass-based operations does not seem to be an economical or even a sustainable solution. This presentation will cover recent work in my group related to the decarbonization of oil refineries, focusing on proposing solutions that could be integrated with existing plants... (ABSTRACT ABBREVIATED)