The global energy transition movement has started a wide array of projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with carbon reduction as one of the primary targets.

Several players in the energy and petrochemical industries have focused on capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial processes. The CO2 could be stored underground or used to produce fuels or other raw materials.

The latter has generated increasing interest in the methanol industry, as methanol is a fundamental building block for various other chemicals and raw materials that can be produced by utilizing captured carbon and green hydrogen in a process as outlined.

In recent years, there have been announcements of projects seeking to produce renewable or sustainable methanol. Still, only a few have been completed, and the only ones that have been able to reach any level of commercial scale have utilized some sort of carbon capture technology.

Fairway Methanol Plant: Largest CO2-to-Methanol Plant

Since 2019, Celanese and Mitsui have planned to expand their Fairway Methanol plant to support Celanese’s acetic acid capacity increase at Clear Lake, Texas. The project would boost plant capacity from 1,490 to 1,620 Kta using carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology from various companies at the Clear Lake complex. This would reduce CO2 emissions by 180 Kt per year, equivalent to the annual emissions of 39,000 cars.

In February 2022, Linde extended its agreement with Celanese to supply CO2 from its nearby facility, starting in early 2023. By January 9, 2024, Celanese completed the project, achieving a production capacity of 130,000 tons per year of low-carbon methanol, making it the world’s largest CO2-to-methanol production site.

Shunli Plant: First CO2-to-Methanol Commercial Plant

The Shunli plant, the world’s first commercial-scale CO2-to-methanol plant, was created in October 2022 in Anyang, Henan, China. It uses Carbon Recycling International’s Emissions-to-Liquids (ETL) technology to capture 160,000 tons of CO2 annually and produce 110,000 tons of methanol annually. The CO2 is sourced from a neighboring coke oven operated by Henan Schuncheng Group, which generates hydrogen and methane as by-products.

Jiangsu Sailboat, a subsidiary of Shenghong Petrochemicals, operates the world’s largest methanol-to-olefins (MTO) plant. Inaugurated in September 2023, this facility captures around 150,000 tons of CO2 annually to produce 100,000 tons of methanol. This low-carbon methanol is used in their MTO plant to create various chemical products, reducing reliance on fossil-based methanol and lowering carbon intensity.

Sumitomo Launched Carbon Capture and Utilization Pilot Project

In late 2023, Sumitomo launched a CCU pilot project at its Ehime Works complex in Niihama City, Japan. The plant uses an internal condensation reactor (ICR) to improve methanol yield, energy efficiency, and catalyst degradation. Sumitomo plans to demonstrate this CCU technology through 2028, aiming to start a commercial-scale project and license its technology to other entities in the next decade.

Challenges and Progress in Sustainable Methanol Production

Aside from the low-carbon methanol projects mentioned above, there has been little advancement in other sustainable projects. While there are projects announced in different parts of the world, they have been of smaller capacity (less than 50,000 tons per annum), and not many details have been provided on the design and progress.

Largest Methanol-to-Olefins (MTO) Plant

The size of these finished CCU units (100,000-130,000 tons per annum) is also much smaller than conventional world-scale methanol plants, with a capacity of around 1.8 million tons per annum. This highlights the challenges methanol producers face in using renewable feedstocks for commercial-scale production, especially as consumers are unwilling to pay more for low-carbon methanol. Additionally, traditional fossil-based methanol producers already use their methods to capture carbon emissions to improve efficiency and reduce environmental impact, potentially qualifying their low-carbon methanol as “blue” or lower carbon intensity.

As the world seeks to accelerate its transition to more sustainable fuels and raw materials, and larger, world-scale projects of sustainable chemicals are not yet finding firm investments, carbon capture and utilization (CCU) units may provide a more tangible and cost-effective interim solution in the early phases of the energy transition.

Join us at the World Methanol Conference taking place on 22-24 October 2024 in Copenhagen, Denmark where industry leaders and experts will gather to discuss the latest advancements and insights in methanol production and carbon capture utilization(CCU) technologies.

Early bird rate ends on  August 30, 2024, Register now for your place