Person:
Valdés-González, Héctor

Loading...
Profile Picture

Email Address

Birth Date

Research Projects

Organizational Units

Job Title

Last Name

Valdés-González

First Name

Héctor

Name

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Publication
    Green hydrogen integration in aluminum recycling: Techno-economic analysis towards sustainability transition in the expanding aluminum market
    (2024) Reyes-Bozo, Lorenzo; Fúnez-Guerra, Carlos; Salazar, José Luis; Vyhmeister, Eduardo; Valdés-González, Héctor; Jaén Caparrós, María; Clemente-Jul, Carmen; Carro-de Lorenzo, Francisco; Simón-Martín, Miguel de
    The use of aluminum-based products is widespread and growing, particularly in industries such as automotive, food packaging, and construction. Obtaining aluminum is expensive and energy-intensive, making the recycling of existing products essential for economic and environmental viability. This work explores the potential of using green hydrogen as a replacement for natural gas in the smelting and refining furnaces in aluminum recycling facilities. The adoption of green hydrogen has the potential to curtail approximately 4.54 ktons/year of CO2 emissions, rendering it a sustainable and economically advantageous solution. The work evaluates the economic viability of a case study through assessing the Net Present Value (NPV) and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR). Furthermore, it is employed single- and multi-parameter sensitivity analyses to obtain insight on the most relevant conditions to achieve economic viability. Results demonstrate that integrating on-site green hydrogen generation yields a favorable NPV of 57,370, an IRR of 9.83%, and a 19.63-year payback period. The primary factors influencing NPV are the initial electricity consumption stack and the H2 price.