GHG life cycle assessment for the United Arab Emirates Electricity sector combining optimization and simulation tools

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) relies heavily on natural gas for power generation, and the demand for gas in a country with one of the highest per capita power consumption rates in the world position the electricity sector as the leading CO₂ emission source. Although the country is very rich in energy resources it is currently facing challenges to meet its domestic gas demand. Thus, the country has been forced to develop its large, but highly sour (high-sulfur content) gas reservoirs. Given the gas high-sulfur content, the sweetening process is particularly very energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensive compared with conventional gas resources. Additionally, the volume of sweet gas yield is low due to the high proportion of acid gases in the feed gas (e.g., over 35% of H2S and CO₂ combined). This work quantifies the well-to-grid (WTG) GHG emissions per kilowatt hour (kWh) of domestic gas-based electricity generated in the UAE using mathematical models, simulation tools, and engineering principles. WTG emissions include emissions from sour gas extracting, sour gas processing, sweet gas product transportation, electricity generation, and electricity transmission in the UAE. Two types of gas resources were examined: conventional and ultra-sour gas. The results show that the WTG GHG emissions of domestic gas-based power generation in UAE ranges between 444 to 501 g CO₂ eq./kWh; placing the country in the low-mid range of values compared with the literature 413-587 g CO₂ eq./kWh.