Selene Cobo Gutiérrez

Last Name

Cobo Gutiérrez

First Name

Selene

ORCID

0000-0002-2879-6261

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Publications1 - 7 of 7

Assessing the Environmental Potential of Hydrogen from Waste Polyethylene
Salah, Cecilia; Cobo Gutiérrez, Selene; Guillén Gosálbez, Gonzalo (2022)
Computer Aided Chemical Engineering ~ 14th International Symposium on Process Systems Engineering
In 2019, nearly 370 million tonnes of waste plastic were generated, an amount that has been steadily increasing over the years. Here we assess hydrogen production from waste polyethylene in the context of a circular economy of plastics. Based on the gasification of polyethylene waste (wPG), we performed a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study following the ReCiPe method. Our results show that the wPG process coupled with carbon capture and storage (CCS) performs very well environmentally relative to other H2 production routes, outperforming steam methane reforming (SMR) with and without CCS and biomass gasification (BG) in the three endpoint impact categories.
Responsible carbon dioxide removals and the EU's 2040 climate target
Koponen, Kati; Braun, Johanna; Cobo Gutiérrez, Selene; et al. (2024)
Environmental Research Letters
Delaying carbon dioxide removal in the European Union puts climate targets at risk
Galán Martín, Ángel; Vázquez, Daniel; Cobo Gutiérrez, Selene; et al. (2021)
Nature Communications
Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) will be essential to meet the climate targets, so enabling its deployment at the right time will be decisive. Here, we investigate the still poorly understood implications of delaying CDR actions, focusing on integrating direct air capture and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (DACCS and BECCS) into the European Union power mix. Under an indicative target of −50 Gt of net CO2 by 2100, delayed CDR would cost an extra of 0.12−0.19 trillion EUR per year of inaction. Moreover, postponing CDR beyond mid-century would substantially reduce the removal potential to almost half (−35.60 Gt CO2) due to the underused biomass and land resources and the maximum technology diffusion speed. The effective design of BECCS and DACCS systems calls for long-term planning starting from now and aligned with the evolving power systems. Our quantitative analysis of the consequences of inaction on CDR—with climate targets at risk and fair CDR contributions at stake—should help to break the current impasse and incentivize early actions worldwide.
Planetary Boundaries Analysis of Low-Carbon Ammonia Production Routes
D'Angelo, Sebastiano Carlo; Cobo Gutiérrez, Selene; Tulus Merlich, Victor; et al. (2021)
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
At present, the synthesis of ammonia through the Haber-Bosch (HB) process accounts for 1.2% of the global carbon emissions, representing roughly one-fourth of the global fossil consumption from the chemical industry, which creates a pressing need for alternative low-carbon synthesis routes. Analyzing seven essential planetary boundaries (PBs) for the safe operation of our planet, we find that the standard HB process is unsustainable as it vastly transgresses the climate change PB. In order to identify more responsible strategies from this integrated perspective, we assess the absolute sustainability level of 34 alternative routes where hydrogen (H-2) is supplied by steam methane reforming with carbon capture and storage, biomass gasification, or water electrolysis powered by various energy sources. We found that some of these scenarios could substantially reduce the global impact of fossil HB, yet alleviating the impact on climate change could critically exacerbate the impacts on other Earth-system processes. Furthermore, we identify that reducing the cost of electrolytic H-2 is the main avenue toward the economic appeal of the most sustainable routes. Our work highlights the need to embrace global impacts beyond climate change in the assessment of decarbonization routes of fossil chemicals. This approach enabled us to identify more suitable alternatives and associated challenges toward environmental and economically attractive ammonia synthesis.
Environmental and economic potential of decentralised electrocatalytic ammonia synthesis powered by solar energy
D'Angelo, Sebastiano Carlo; Martín Fernández, Antonio José; Cobo Gutiérrez, Selene; et al. (2023)
Energy & Environmental Science
Intense efforts have been devoted to developing green and blue centralised Haber-Bosch processes (gHB and bHB, respectively), but the feasibility of a decentralised and more sustainable scheme has yet to be assessed. Here we reveal the conditions under which small-scale systems (NH3-leaves) based on the electrocatalytic reduction of nitrogen (eN(2)R) powered by photovoltaic energy could realise a decentralised scheme competitive in terms of environmental and economic criteria. For this purpose, we calculated energy efficiency targets worldwide, providing clear values that may guide research in the incipient eN(2)R field. Even at this germinal stage, the NH3-leaf technology would compete favourably in sunny locations for CO2-related Earth-system processes and human health relative to the business-as-usual production scenario. Moreover, a modest 8% gain in energy efficiency would already make them outperform the gHB in terms of climate change-related impacts in the sunniest locations. If no CO2 taxation is enforced, the lowest estimated ammonia production cost would be 3 times the industrial standard, with the potential to match it provided a substantial decrease of investment costs and very high selectivity toward ammonia in eN(2)R are achieved. The disclosed sustainability potential of NH3-leaf makes it a strong ally of gHB toward defossilised ammonia production.
Human and planetary health implications of negative emissions technologies
Cobo Gutiérrez, Selene; Galán Martín, Ángel; Tulus Merlich, Victor; et al. (2022)
Nature Communications
Meeting the 1.5 °C target may require removing up to 1,000 Gtonne CO2 by 2100 with Negative Emissions Technologies (NETs). We evaluate the impacts of Direct Air Capture and Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS and BECCS), finding that removing 5.9 Gtonne/year CO2 can prevent <9·102 disability-adjusted life years per million people annually, relative to a baseline without NETs. Avoiding this health burden-similar to that of Parkinson's-can save substantial externalities (≤148 US$/tonne CO2), comparable to the NETs levelized costs. The health co-benefits of BECCS, dependent on the biomass source, can exceed those of DACCS. Although both NETs can help to operate within the climate change and ocean acidification planetary boundaries, they may lead to trade-offs between Earth-system processes. Only DACCS can avert damage to the biosphere integrity without challenging other biophysical limits (impacts ≤2% of the safe operating space). The quantified NETs co-benefits can incentivize their adoption.
Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Hydrogen from Waste Polymers
Salah, Cecilia; Cobo Gutiérrez, Selene; Pérez-Ramírez, Javier; et al. (2023)
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
The rising demand for single-use polymers calls for alternative waste treatment pathways to ensure a circular economy. Here, we explore hydrogen production from waste polymer gasification (wPG) to reduce the environmental impacts of plastic incineration and landfilling while generating a valuable product. We assess the carbon footprint of 13 H2 production routes and their environmental sustainability relative to the planetary boundaries (PBs) defined for seven Earth-system processes, covering H2 from waste polymers (wP; polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene), and a set of benchmark technologies including H2 from natural gas, biomass, and water splitting. Our results show that wPG coupled with carbon capture and storage (CCS) could reduce the climate change impact of fossil-based and most electrolytic routes. Moreover, due to the high price of wP, wPG would be more expensive than its fossil- and biomass-based analogs but cheaper than the electrolytic routes. The absolute environmental sustainability assessment (AESA) revealed that all pathways would transgress at least one downscaled PB, yet a portfolio was identified where the current global H2 demand could be met without transgressing any of the studied PBs, which indicates that H2 from plastics could play a role until chemical recycling technologies reach a sufficient maturity level.

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Selene Cobo Gutiérrez

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