Methanol is one of four important fuels and chemicals being produced in the oil and gas industry. In 2022, global methanol production exceeded 111 million metric tons, growing by nearly four percent from the previous year, according to Statista. It is used in everyday products, including plastics, paints, car parts, and construction materials. Methanol is also used to fuel cars, trucks, buses, ships, fuel cells, boilers and cook stoves.
However, its production can lead to significant environmental impacts. The conventional method of producing methanol involves a catalytic process that uses fossil feedstocks, such as natural gas or coal, which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere during the combustion phase. Therefore, efforts are being made to explore cleaner production methods for methanol and reduce its environmental footprint.
Currently, there are about five types of methanol production, grey, blue, green, bio-methanol, and E-methanol. Each has its own production methods. Grey methanol is derived from non-renewable natural gas or coal, while blue methanol incorporates carbon capture and storage to reduce pollution. Green methanol is produced entirely from renewable energy sources, and bio-methanol is derived from sustainable biomass gasification. E-methanol is synthesized from green hydrogen and captured CO2.
Furthermore, researchers from Technical University of Denmark (DTU) worked on a new method for producing green methanol from biogas, a process that is significantly more efficient and cost-effective than the previous methods.
The researchers used a technology that converts 95% of biogas into methanol without the need for added hydrogen, which is a substantial improvement over traditional green methanol production that relies on hydrogen from electrolysis.
“When methanol is produced from biogas, methanol is green because it comes from a renewable source. Biogas is a product of degraded waste from households, agriculture, and production,” explained Associate Professor Philip Fosbøl, DTU Chemical Engineering, one of the researchers behind the project.
“We take biogas and turn it into synthesis gas, and then we take the synthesis gas and turn it into methanol. And we have a plant that can recycle and use CO2 together with hydrogen and produce even more methanol,” said Fosbøl in the press release published by the DTU Chemical Engineering.
DTU’s new method is particularly beneficial for small biogas plants that lack access to the gas grid or hydrogen producers, allowing them to convert their biogas into methanol for storage or use as a fuel. Therefore, it adapts to future energy needs and provides an alternative to flaring or using biogas only for heat and electricity.
“Our plant is designed to operate in a future where you adapt to changing needs. We can operate with different feed gases and switch very quickly,” said Fosbøl.
In 2022, the technology was installed in a 40-feet container at Lemvig Biogas in Denmark, and a year later the plant produced the first liters of methanol. The technology offers a solution for storing methanol in a more combat liquid form, making it easier to transport than other gaseous fuels. It also has a lower carbon footprint compared to other liquid fuels and can be used in various applications, including internal propulsion engines and fuel cells.
While the cost of producing methanol from biogas is lower than traditional e-methanol production, it is still higher than methanol from fossil sources. However, Professor Fosbøl suggests that taxing fossil-based methanol could make green methanol production economically viable.
The demonstration plant at Lemvig Biogas has successfully produced methanol without operational breakdowns, with the next goal being to run the plant continuously for 500 hours. The researchers aim to scale up the technology to handle 200 m3 of biogas per hour, which would be equivalent to a commercial-scale facility. This expansion would require substantial public support due to the high cost involved. When fully developed, the technology has the potential to produce 60,000 tons of methanol annually.
