Solar methanol production from carbon dioxide and water using NaA zeolitic membrane reactor with pressurized solid oxide electrolysis cell

Solar-driven methanol synthesis coupled with water electrolysis can achieve carbon-negative methanol production. In this study, a solar methanol production system using water-conduction membrane reactor coupled with pressurized solid oxide electrolysis cell is proposed. A methanol synthesis membrane reactor model and a solar-driven pressurized solid oxide electrolysis cell model are developed and validated. Under the specified conditions, the conversion efficiency of the membrane reactor is found to be twice as high as that of a conventional reactor. A thermodynamic model is developed to simulate the system's performance. Using this model, the energy flows within the system are visually represented through a Sankey diagram, providing a clear illustration of energy distribution and losses. Additionally, effects of the solid oxide electrolysis cell temperature, current density, methanol synthesis temperature and pressure on the system performance are investigated parametrically. An optimum solar-to-methanol efficiency of 7.3 % is obtained. Furthermore, the economic analysis shows the levelized cost of methanol close to 1.40 Euro/kg and the payback period is around 4.5 years. This study proposed a novel efficient solar methanol production system. •Solar-driven water-conduction membrane reactor with pressurized SOEC is proposed.•The yield of membrane reactor is twice higher than that of traditional reactor.•An optimized solar-to-methanol efficiency of 7.3 % is obtained.•The levelized cost of methanol and payback period are 1.40 Euro/kg and 4.5 years.