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Master thesis - optimal renewable integration in a refinery
This project aims to investigate the optimal pathway of renewable integration into a refinery. Various renewable sources, such as photovoltaics, concentrated solar power and wind energy, and their integration methodologies will be evaluated in the aspects of costs, environmental impacts and renewable intermittency. This project, which will be co-directed by TotalEnergies and IPESE at EPFL, has the potential to leverage the strengths of each part by applying the advanced research results into real-world industrial applications. There are some financial supports for the successful candidate.
Keywords: energy system optimization, renewables, refinery
In respond to the climate change, TotalEnergies, one of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world, adopted a Climate Ambition in 2020, addressing the target to achieve net zero across its worldwide operations by 2050 or sooner. Among all the operations, refinery was one of the most concerned, due to its large quantity of carbon emissions and its central position in maintaining a stable energy market by converting crude oil into fuels and feedstocks. In 2018, refinery process alone accounted for 40% of emissions from the oil and gas supply chain and 6% of all industrial carbon emissions (“World Energy Outlook 2018 – Analysis” n.d.).
There are a number of technologies that offer potential ways to mitigate the CO
2
emissions at refinery, including clean hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS). These technologies, despite their positive impacts on carbon density reduction, are actually largely dependent on steady and reliable clean electricity with low carbon footprints. Clean electricity is the key enabler and solid backing for refinery decarbonization.
Compared with solely importing electricity from grids, direct renewable integration has the potential to achieve highly efficient heat and power cogeneration. From the perspective of renewable sources, their intermittency can be mitigated or fully eliminated by the hydrogen demand and power generation in refinery, instead of relying on expensive batteries or other storage technologies. Last but not least, the renewable integration has the possibility to strengthen the energy security given that the stable operation is always one of the highest priorities for refinery.
In conclusion, this project aims to investigate the optimal pathway of renewable integration into a refinery. Various renewable sources, such as photovoltaics, concentrated solar power and wind energy, and their integration methodologies will be evaluated in the aspects of costs, environmental impacts and renewable intermittency. This project, which will be co-directed by TotalEnergies and IPESE at EPFL, has the potential to leverage the strengths of each part by applying the advanced research results into real-world industrial applications.
In respond to the climate change, TotalEnergies, one of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world, adopted a Climate Ambition in 2020, addressing the target to achieve net zero across its worldwide operations by 2050 or sooner. Among all the operations, refinery was one of the most concerned, due to its large quantity of carbon emissions and its central position in maintaining a stable energy market by converting crude oil into fuels and feedstocks. In 2018, refinery process alone accounted for 40% of emissions from the oil and gas supply chain and 6% of all industrial carbon emissions (“World Energy Outlook 2018 – Analysis” n.d.).
There are a number of technologies that offer potential ways to mitigate the CO 2 emissions at refinery, including clean hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS). These technologies, despite their positive impacts on carbon density reduction, are actually largely dependent on steady and reliable clean electricity with low carbon footprints. Clean electricity is the key enabler and solid backing for refinery decarbonization.
Compared with solely importing electricity from grids, direct renewable integration has the potential to achieve highly efficient heat and power cogeneration. From the perspective of renewable sources, their intermittency can be mitigated or fully eliminated by the hydrogen demand and power generation in refinery, instead of relying on expensive batteries or other storage technologies. Last but not least, the renewable integration has the possibility to strengthen the energy security given that the stable operation is always one of the highest priorities for refinery.
In conclusion, this project aims to investigate the optimal pathway of renewable integration into a refinery. Various renewable sources, such as photovoltaics, concentrated solar power and wind energy, and their integration methodologies will be evaluated in the aspects of costs, environmental impacts and renewable intermittency. This project, which will be co-directed by TotalEnergies and IPESE at EPFL, has the potential to leverage the strengths of each part by applying the advanced research results into real-world industrial applications.
The mission of the internship will be focusing on the completion of the conceptual study and identify the economically and technically feasible pathway of integrating renewable in a refinery. The questions to be answered in this project include:
- What will be the potential technologies to be integrated into a refinery? What are their advantages?
- Identify the barriers to renewable integration. The barriers may include:
- How to deal with the intermittency of renewable energies?
- How to keep the system realiable and operable with renewble integration?
- What are the transition pathway from the current refinery to the refinery with renewables?
- What are the suitable sustainability metrics to compare and optimise the generated pathways?
- How to improve the work? How to validate the results?
The mission of the internship will be focusing on the completion of the conceptual study and identify the economically and technically feasible pathway of integrating renewable in a refinery. The questions to be answered in this project include:
- What will be the potential technologies to be integrated into a refinery? What are their advantages?
- Identify the barriers to renewable integration. The barriers may include:
- How to deal with the intermittency of renewable energies?
- How to keep the system realiable and operable with renewble integration?
- What are the transition pathway from the current refinery to the refinery with renewables?
- What are the suitable sustainability metrics to compare and optimise the generated pathways?
- How to improve the work? How to validate the results?
If interested, please take contact with Yi Zhao (yi.zhao@epfl.ch) attaching your CV, Cover Letter and transcript of records (Bachelor’s and Master’s). Short-listed candidates will be interviewed. Early applications are encouraged.
The extraordinary candidate has the possibility to get financial support in any case.
If interested, please take contact with Yi Zhao (yi.zhao@epfl.ch) attaching your CV, Cover Letter and transcript of records (Bachelor’s and Master’s). Short-listed candidates will be interviewed. Early applications are encouraged.
The extraordinary candidate has the possibility to get financial support in any case.