Process Economics Program Report 43D
Published: Dec-03
World scale, grass roots methanol plants currently have
production capacities as high as 3,000 metric tons per day. A new round of announcements
now suggests that technology for single train capacities as high as 15,000 metric
tons per day may soon be commercialized.
The anticipated production cost savings from methanol
plants this large is expected to allow methanol to compete as a primary fuel
and in unconventional new petrochemical uses, in addition to its conventional
uses as an intermediate commodity chemical used to produce end-use products
such as MTBE, acetic acid, and formaldehyde.
Such mega methanol plants would be intended to be located
in geographical areas where natural gas feedstock prices are comparatively low,
such as the Middle East and Russia, or in remote locations containing large
quantities of natural gas (Alaska, northwest Australia). The lack of infrastructure
combined with long distance to market characteristic of these natural gas sources
currently makes natural gas recovery as LNG non-economic. Easily transported
methanol may off the most attractive alternative for exploiting large, but remote
natural gas resources.
This PEP report examines current technology developments
for mega methanol plants, presents a process design and corresponding production
economics for an integrated, mega methanol plant with a 10,000 metric ton per
day capacity, and compares the economic results with competing fuels such as
LNG and long distance pipeline natural gas.
Other PEP Related Reports
The PEP report abstracts shown above are provided as a complete historical reference of related PEP reports. The production cost estimates are updated in the PEP Yearbook. Lists of all PEP reports and reviews are available here.
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