Metric
Green hydrogen
CCS
E-fuels 2G
Ethanol 2G ethanol (standalone) (DBCOM integrated)
Capex Opex
Very high
High
Very high Very high
Medium Moderate Existing
Medium-low
High
Moderate
Low
Infrastructure needed New pipelines Storage basins
New synthetic plants
Existing
Scalable today?
Limited
Region-specific Fuel unchanged
No
Yes
Yes
Carbon intensity(g/MJ) Multi-sector value
5-20
0-10
18-25
15-18
Medium Very high Note: Values are indicative ranges based on synthesis of public literature, industry practice, and system level techno economic analysis. Carbon intensity figures are pathway and boundary dependent and are shown to illustrate relative positioning rather than project-specific values. Medium Medium High
Table 3 Comparison of major refinery decarbonisation pathways
assets, DBCOM converts utility decarbonisation into a monetisable, near-term industrial solution. DBCOM reveals that the most deployable refinery decarbonisation tool may not be the most futuristic, but the one that fits the system we already have. Conclusion This study reframes 2G ethanol from a conventional biofuel into a systems-level decarbonisation platform. By explicitly accounting for both fuel lifecycle emissions and refinery utility displacement, DBCOM reveals abatement value that conventional lifecycle tools systematically overlook. Lignin- derived steam and power emerge not as secondary co-products, but as primary industrial decarbonisation assets. Integrated into existing refinery infrastructure, 2G ethanol reduces transport and industrial emissions simultaneously, without new pipelines, storage, or long permitting cycles. DBCOM represents a structural shift in how low-carbon fuels should be evaluated, aligning naturally with emerging carbon-intensity-based policies. In a transition constrained by time, capital, and infrastructure, refinery-integrated 2G ethanol stands out as one of the most immediately deployable and underappreciated decarbonisation solutions available today.
delivers disproportionate system-level impact, positioning DBCOM-integrated ethanol as a core refinery decarbonisation pathway rather than a niche biofuel solution. Robustness, uncertainty, and policy relevance of DBCOM A credible decarbonisation framework must perform under real-world variability, not just ideal assumptions. Sensitivity analysis shows that DBCOM-integrated 2G ethanol meets this test. Across uncertainties in biomass quality, enzyme dosage, ethanol yield, boiler efficiency, and grid decarbonisation, system-level outcomes remain robust. Steam carbon intensity emerges as the dominant driver, accounting for roughly 70% of performance variance. Refineries with fossil- intensive utilities therefore capture the largest marginal benefit, explaining strong results across Asia and parts of the Middle East. Boiler efficiency has a secondary, non-linear influence, while commonly cited concerns, such as biomass moisture, enzyme loading, and short- haul transport, exert only minor effects within typical design ranges. Even under pessimistic stress cases, DBCOM-integrated ethanol consistently remains within the lowest-cost quartile of refinery decarbonisation options. It is more stable than hydrogen pathways, more scalable than CCS, more cost-predictable than e-fuels, and more infrastructure-compatible than electrification. As global policy increasingly rewards verifiable carbon-intensity reduction within existing
VIEW REFERENCES
Tania Guha tania.guha@eil.co.in
www.decarbonisationtechnology.com
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