Demand Response for a Novel Decentralized Power-To-Methanol Process

Due to the increasing share of renewable energies, the role of demand response and production planning is becoming more important. Power-to-X (PtX) technologies, especially power-to-methanol (PtM), are particularly suitable for storing excess energy, as these processes are highly flexible as they can be ramped up and down quickly. In this work, an optimization framework for the flexibilization of a novel power to methanol process that uses decentralized carbon dioxide point sources is developed. Based on simulation data of the stationary operation of a power to methanol process, a Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Program (MINLP) considering buffer storages, an electrolyser and a power to methanol plant is constructed. The optimal operation is determined taking into account variable electricity costs, varying renewable electricity supply and various production constraints. It has been shown that a suitable scheduling of the process can achieve cost savings up to twenty percent, depending on the boundary conditions and configuration.