Methanol
as fuel
By Energy Correspondent
Trinidad Express
Port
Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
07 16 07
The use of methanol as a fuel is expected to provide
the major impetus for growth in the methanol market
over the next decade. Methanol use will increase
both as a direct fuel and as Di Methyl Ether (DME),
a clean burning alternative fuel made from methanol.
With markets currently tight and prices soaring
above US$350.00 per tonne, as a result of high
global demand led by China, prospects for the industry's
future appear very bright. This was the general
message arising out of some of the presentations
at the GazChem 2007 conference, held recently at
the Trinidad Hilton.
The methanol industry has had a very interesting
relationship with the transportation fuels market
over the last 20 or so years. Towards the end of
the eighties, in particular with the passage of
the Clean Air Act in the USA in 1990, the impetus
for growth in the methanol market was provided
by MTBE- Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether- which had
replaced lead as the preferred octane enhancer
in gasoline.
Growth was given a major boost in the mid 1990
when the amended US Clean Air Act mandated accelerated
action to reduce emissions in gasoline. However,
after less than a decade, the MTBE bubble burst.
The State of California called for a ban on the
use of MTBE because it was found to be contaminating
ground water. The timeline for phase out in the
State of California was set for 2003. Other states
have followed. MTBE is being replaced by the bio
alternative ETBE based on ethanol produced from
corn. MTBE accounts for about 25 per cent of global
methanol demand. The other established major applications
are in the manufacture of Formaldehyde and Acetic
Acid, which account for 36 per cent and 12 per
cent of the market respectively. Although growth
of other application and increased demand for MTBE
outside the USA has neutralized the impact of the
US ban, the threat of the anti-MTBE legislation
spreading to the growth centres of Asia and Europe
has been a heavy cloud over the future of the methanol
industry. It is ironic that new fuel applications
are promising a new phase of expansion for methanol.
Mr.
J Perregaard of Haldoe Topsoe told the GazChem
Conference that DME is poised to become the fastest
growing methanol derivative. DME is made from natural
gas in a combined process with methanol. The chemical
is burned like natural gas and has strong environmental
properties. Since 1963, DME has been used widely
as an aerosol propellant in place of chlorofluorocarbons.
After 1995, DME was recognised as a potential multipurpose
fuel and subjected to a global R&D drive to
commercialization. The major market opportunities
for DME are its use as an LPG alternative, in power
generation and as a substitute for diesel in the
transportation fuels market. China is currently
the world's largest producer and consumer of DME.
DME as an alternative to LPG is already produced
and used in substantial qualities in China which
utilizes its vast reserves of coal as the feedstock
in making DME.
Perregaard
told the audience that vehicle manufacturer Volvo
has declared DME "our preferred long-term
fuel". As an alternative to diesel, DME performs
well in conventional diesel engines with minor
modification to the fuel injection system. It is
cleaner burning with substantially lower emissions.
While there were some challenges in terms of economics
and material compatibility to face, there seems
to be some optimism in the market that DME will
emerge as a serious competitive alternative to
diesel.
It is estimated that the first big market for
DME is South East Asia (SEA), countries such as
Japan, China, Korea, India and Taiwan as well as
other smaller markets. The total amount of DME
demand in SEA will be around 105 MMTPY at year
2010. Outside of China, no clear suppliers of DME
have emerged thus far. But, major methanol producers
such as Chile, Trinidad and Iran, are expected
to be the future suppliers of DME to the international
fuel markets.
While the world seems to be high on DME, our own
Methanol Holdings Trinidad Limited (MHTL) is also
conducting research on the direct application of
methanol as a fuel. Dr H Furlonge, UTT, told the
conference of a Methanol to Power research pilot
project engaging the attention of the Clico majority
owned Methanol Holdings group. MHTL has established
an 8.5 MW demonstration power plant in Point Lisas,
which will burn methanol instead of natural gas
as a fuel. The long-term intent is that once proven,
the methanol fuelled power stations can provide
an economic alternative power generating technology
for some niche markets such as the smaller islands
of the Caribbean, for whom natural gas via pipeline
and or LNG is not a feasible option. The plant
current provides power to two of the company's
five methanol plants.
Feedback: energyczartt@yahoo.com
Trinidad
Express
Wednesday, July 11th 2007
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