Synthesis, Design and Techno-Economic Evaluation of a Formic Acid Production Plant from Carbon Dioxide

The conversion of CO2 into valuable chemicals such as formic acid offers a promising approach to reducing CO2 emissions. This study presents a techno-economic assessment of two continuous catalytic processes for formic acid production via carbon dioxide (CO2) hydrogenation. The processes differ in the type of nitrogenous base used, operating under either homogeneous or heterogeneous catalytic conditions. Process simulations and techno-economic evaluations were performed in SuperPro DesignerTM for a medium-scale facility with an annual CO2 processing capacity of around 14 kMT. The homogeneous catalysis pathway demonstrated superior plant performance, producing 13.03 kMT of formic acid per year at 99.78% purity. In contrast, the heterogeneous pathway required higher capital investment and exhibited lower overall efficiency. The techno-economic analysis confirmed the economic viability of the homogeneous process, with a production cost of $1.18/kg and favorable investment indicators, whereas the heterogeneous route proved economically unattractive under the evaluated assumptions. Sensitivity analysis identified the selling price of formic acid as the most critical profitability parameter, with the homogeneous process remaining robust across varying conditions. Overall, homogeneous catalytic CO2 hydrogenation demonstrates a technically efficient and economically promising process for the chemical transformation of CO2, contributing to carbon management.