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3 CURRENT STATUS OF

TECHNOLOGY & TRENDS

n the previous sections basic routes of production of syngas, methanol and DME from different
hydrocarbon sources have been discussed. In this section present trend of commercial
Iproduction of these products including problems and issues have been looked at.

3.1 Present Commercial Production Routes

At present there are large numbers of methanol production units all over the world. The total
production capacity of methanol during the 2013 was about 100 MT while the demand was
about 65 MT. Thirty five percent of the total production is being used in fuel. The consumption
for DME was about 8% [21]. The global demand is primarily for methanol as a building block for
various chemicals, but the fuel application is also growing fast. Therefore, the unused capacity
is progressively reducing. China is the largest producer of methanol in the world and also the
major user of methanol and methanol derivatives as fuel. The use of methanol and DME is
growing at a fast rate in several countries in the world including North America. The current
methanol production capacity in India is about 1.5 MT. Since the demand of methanol in India
for chemical production is higher than its production, India is one of the largest importers of
methanol [25]. Most of the large methanol plants in the world are based on natural gas, while in
China both natural gas and coal are used. All the methanol plants in India are based on natural
gas or naphtha; there is no coal based methanol plant in India. These units produce syngas
through steam reforming.
While the popular technology for reforming of natural gas or naphtha is auto-thermal
reforming, gasification is gaining importance over reforming. When heavier feedstocks such
as hydrocarbon residue, coal, coke or solid waste biomass or MSW are used, reforming is not
feasible. In such cases gasification is the only option to produce syngas.
The most important development in methanol/DME production scenario is use of biomass for
production of syngas for methanol. However, due to the inherent issues with biomass, large
scale mega plants are not feasible. Several demonstration units and a few commercial plants
are operating based on biomass gasification.

3.2 Recent Trends in Gasification Process

For gas as well as solid carbon source, including coal, solid waste based methanol plants
produce syngas via partial oxidation (POX). Many of the plants use pure oxygen as the oxidant
source, with IGCC for simultaneous power generation. Although investment is high, IGCC with
oxygen firing and carbon dioxide capture makes the plant practically carbon neutral. All these
technologies are commercially available, and many plants are operating in several parts of
the world. Generally, as the capacity of gasifier increased, the investment per unit basis is
lower and profitability is higher. In this light, 3000 TPD coal based methanol plant are being
considered in China.

48 Methanol and DME Production: Survey and Roadmap | 2017