Optimization-based assessment framework for carbon utilization strategies: Energy production from coke oven gas

•A new framework to assess and analyze carbon utilization strategies is proposed.•Process models to estimate technical and economic parameters are developed.•Optimization models to address different problems and criteria are presented.•Optimal strategies for energy production from coke oven gas are identified. This study aims to develop an optimization-based framework to systematically analyze and assess carbon utilization strategies. To achieve this goal, we generated a superstructure consisting of a number of carbon utilization strategies, which included a series of technologies (separation and reaction) to convert carbon sources into final products. We then estimated the technical and economic parameters of all the included technologies using interactive process models. The flow and relationship information in the superstructure and the technical and economic parameters from the process models are used to develop optimization models capable of assessing the carbon utilization strategies with four different criteria: product quantity, energy efficiency, production cost, and revenue. With the proposed framework, we can answer a range of interesting questions about carbon utilization – what is the best strategy for the production of a certain product or for the utilization of a given carbon source? The capability of the proposed framework is illustrated with a coke oven gas case study. As a result, the optimal production strategies of hydrogen, methane, methanol and liquid fuels are identified using four different criteria.