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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the economic and financial alternatives for industrial methanol (MeOH) production in Colombia, taking advantage of renewable energy and heat pump technology. The main objective was to analyze the feasibility of converting an existing hydrogen production plant into a methanol synthesis plant at a refinery located in the Magdalena Medio region. The approach included the electrification of industrial processes using heat pumps, along with the incorporation of carbon capture technologies, using renewable photovoltaic energy. The study compared this proposal with a conventional fossil fuel-based process, using natural gas for the generation of thermal steam. To carry out the analysis, simulations of the methanol production process were performed using the ASPEN HYSYS V12.1 software, evaluating the mass and energy flows, as well as the investment (CAPEX) and operation (OPEX) costs. The determination and comparison of the levelized cost of methanol production (LCOM) for the different alternatives and market price scenarios reveal that the incorporation of a heat pump in the industrial process can significantly improve energy efficiency, reduce operating costs associated with energy, water/steam, and fuel gas, and allow for the financial viability of projects that use renewable energy and carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies. The results show that electrification through heat pumps and renewable energy improves energy performance by 15%, reduces operational costs by up to 25%, and lowers the levelized cost of methanol production (LCOM) to 456–492 USD/ton. These improvements demonstrate the financial viability and sustainability of methanol production in Colombia using this technology.

The electrification of industrial processes offers sustainable opportunities for reducing carbon footprints and enhancing energy efficiency in the chemical industry. This paper presents an overview of recent research developments in incorporating electrical energy as a replacement for conventional thermal sources like gas and coal in industrial sectors. A literature review was conducted, identifying 70 relevant articles published until September 2020. The topics cover applications for industrial hydrogen generation processes and others, heat pumps, heat pumps, vapor re-compression systems, electric and magnetic fields as heat sources, nanoparticles for improved heat exchange, and ionized gases (plasma) in heating systems. While the application of industrial electrification shows promise globally, its sustainability depends on the efficiency and cost of electrical energy production and transportation at the regional and national levels. Among the various technologies, heat pumps integrated with vapor re-compression systems (VCR) for chemical processes, particularly in industrial distillation product separation columns, appear to be the most viable and widely applicable for waste heat recovery in the near future. Other technologies like electrochemical, plasma, microwave, magnetic, and electric field heating are still in the early stages of development or are limited to specific pilot or laboratory-scale processes.