The industry discusses the green development of methanol technology

On December 22, the seminar on the high-quality development of methanol fuel under the background of methanol economy hosted by the alcohol ether special committee of China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation was held
online.
Experts at the meeting discussed methanol fuel, green methanol, methanol hydrogen production, etc.
, and agreed that methanol has become an important part of building a clean energy system, and the development of green methanol preparation technology and the gradual realization of green renewable methanol resources will become an important boost
to achieve the "dual carbon" goal.

Zhao Ming, deputy secretary-general of the alcohol ether special committee, said that methanol, as a fuel, has the advantages
of resource guarantee, mature technology and full industrial application.
In clean energy, methanol is the only energy source that is liquid at room temperature and pressure, which has the combustion characteristics of gasoline and diesel, and can make full use of the established and perfect liquid fuel transmission and distribution system and terminal filling system to achieve a smooth transformation
of energy utilization.

Wang Chuang, Director of Government Relations and Public Affairs of the Beijing Representative Office of Mesenis Asia Pacific Co.
, Ltd.
in Hong Kong, said that methanol has become an emerging fuel for transportation and heat combustion, especially in the field of
marine fuel.
Currently, Mercedes has 18 methanol/fuel dual-powered ocean carriers in operation, and one more will be converted next
year.
Compared to conventional marine fuels, methanol fuel can reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 80%, sulfur oxide emissions by 99%, particulate matter emissions by 95%, and even if fossil-based methanol fuel is used, the combustion process can reduce carbon dioxide emissions
by 15%.

"Although methanol is a relatively clean fuel, the carbon footprint of methanol is currently high
considering its source.
According to statistics, the current carbon footprint of natural gas to methanol is 93~110 grams of carbon dioxide/kg methanol, and coal-to-methanol is about 300 grams of carbon dioxide/kg methanol, so the development of renewable resources or clean energy to methanol technology is crucial
.
Zhao Kai, chief representative of the Beijing representative office of the Global Methanol Industry Association (Singapore), said
.

Talking about the low-carbon and green methanol production technology, Jin Xianyang, senior chief engineer of Geely Automotive Powertrain Research Institute, believes that in the future, the methanol industry will achieve low-carbon and green development through the coupling of coal-to-methanol and natural gas-to-methanol with renewable energy and
carbon capture technology, as well as the large-scale production of biomass to methanol.

Wang Jijie, a researcher at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, proposed that methanol, which has both fuel and chemical characteristics, is currently the preferred way
to use renewable energy such as solar energy.
However, at present, liquid sunlight methanol is also limited by the impact of renewable energy electricity and electrolyzed water hydrogen production efficiency and carbon dioxide replenishment, and the cost is slightly higher than that of coal-to-methanol
.
In addition, the improvement of catalyst stability is also the goal of the future development of
the technology.

"China is rich in biomass resources, with about 6.
3 billion tons of various organic waste resources, of which straw and other solid biomass resources are the most abundant
.
" Shi Fufu, chief engineer of China Chemical Saiding Engineering Co.
, Ltd.
, expressed optimism
about the process route of biomass to methanol.
According to reports, Saiding has put into operation a pilot plant for the synthesis of methanol by biomass gasification of 10,000 tons, and an 80,000 tons/year biomass gasification to methanol project is being planned
.