Rethinking of conventional Gas-to-Liquid via dimethyl ether intermediate incorporating renewable energy against Power-to-Liquid

•New natural gas-to-liquid (GTL) processes were proposed for gasoline-range hydrocarbon via dimethyl ether intermediates.•GTL with combined steam/CO2 reforming is the most economical and environmentally friendly process.•Gasoline-range hydrocarbon is potential at 3.28 $/GGE or eco-friendly as using renewable energy.•Competitiveness of green fuel via GTL with renewable utilities is compared to Power-to-liquid. This study aims to develop novel Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) processes for gasoline-equivalent products, taking syngas from methane reforming and dimethyl ether as intermediates, Dimethyl ether-to-gasoline synthesis (DTG), as well as to compare other well-known GTL technological routes via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) and Methanol-to-Gasoline (MTG). The process synthesis and development overcame significant challenges in ensuring the most favorable feed (optimal H2/CO ratio and trace CO2) to DME synthesis by examining various combinations of methane reforming and syngas conditioning processes. Combined steam and CO2 reforming (CSCR) outperformed other examined reforming technologies when implemented in DTG, with good techno-economic and environmental performance as low as 3.28 $/GGE and emitting less CO2eq compared to crude oil-based gasoline (5.3 kg/GGE). DTG demonstrated its potential and flexibility in a variety of markets, as well as in integrating with renewable utilities for dramatically reducing CO2eq emission up to 9.4 kg/GGE. Besides, the capability of the enhanced GTL incorporating renewable energy for green fuels production is verified by comparing to the Power-to-Liquid as another promising option.