Nitrogen+Syngas 374 Nov-Dec 2021
30 November 2021
Syngas News
Syngas News
DENMARK
Demonstration plant to produce methanol from biogas
Topsoe has begun operations at a demonstration plant for the production of methanol from biogas. The aim is to validate the company’s electrified technology for cost-competitive production of sustainable methanol from biogas as well as other products. The project is supported by the EUDP Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program and is developed together with Aarhus University, Sintex A/S, Blue World Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Energinet A/S, Aalborg University, and Plan-Energi. The demonstration plant is located at Aarhus University’s research facility in Foulum, and will have an annual capacity of 7.9 t/a of CO2 -neutral methanol from biogas and green power and is scheduled to be fully operational by the beginning of 2022. It uses Topsoe’s eSMR™ technology, which is CO2 -neutral when based on biogas as feedstock and green electricity for heating. It also uses half the CO2 that makes up about 40% of biogas and typically is costly to separate and vent in production of grid quality biogas.
“Fighting climate change demands clean fuels for all sectors. With this initiative, we will demonstrate that we are able to transform classical production process into a fully carbon-neutral scheme. Specifically, we will demonstrate that sustainable Methanol can be produced from biogas at a very competitive cost compared to other green methanol produced from non-fossil fuels,” said Kim Grøn Knudsen, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at Haldor Topsoe.
In separate news, Aarhus University will also host the world’s first interdisciplinary research centre to convert CO2 in the atmosphere into sustainable raw materials, with the Novo Nordisk Foundation providing e84.7 million of funding to establish the centre.
UNITED STATES
Arbor to use Topsoe methanol to gasoline technology
Arbor Renewable Gas, LLC will use Topsoe’s TIGASTM technology to produce renewable gasoline at a new facility in the Gulf Coast region. The facility is expected to be operational by 2024 to produce 1,000 bbl/d of renewable gasoline with a significantly negative carbon intensity score under California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Topsoe will supply the methanol synthesis technologies and the backend gasoline synthesis unit, based on its modular MeOH-To-Go™ design. Feedstock will be woody biomass.
“We are proud that Arbor Gas has chosen our technology for this truly innovative project to decarbonise transportation fuels. By contributing with our world-leading technology, a uniquely integrated solution, incorporating the full value chain from syngas to methanol into gasoline, we support Arbor Gas in their efforts to accelerate the US transition to low carbon fuels, shaping a more diverse and sustainable transportation system,” said Fei Chen, Senior Vice President at Topsoe.
KP Engineering and OMNI Conversion Technologies to cooperate on hydrogen from waste
KP Engineering, LP has entered into a collaboration agreement with OMNI Conversion Technologies Inc. OMNI is a Canadian company focused on producing clean green energy by converting energetic waste into OmniSyngas™ and OmniRock™ , with full diversion from landfill. The collaboration will enable the companies to supply equipment and technology to produce hydrogen from waste with a negative carbon footprint at less than half the cost of electrolysis. KPE and OMNI will co-market OMNI’s patented technology and collaborate to provide an integrated modular solution for converting a wide variety of minimally prepared wastes to hydrogen, while capturing CO2 for subsequent use or sequestration. Biomass-fed projects will fall outside of the scope of the agreement.
William E. Preston, president and chief operating officer, KP Engineering, said, “The partnership between KPE as an industry-leading EPC with a groundbreaking technology provider such as OMNI embodies the type of collaboration that will bring green hydrogen to fruition. This agreement solidifies an already highly efficient working relationship between KPE and OMNI, and will bring to market a cost-effective, zero- and even negative-carbon emission option for producing green hydrogen.”
New members for Methanol Institute
The Methanol Institute (MI) says that it is pleased to welcome WasteFuel and Greenfield Global as the association’s two newest member companies. Waste-Fuel transforms municipal and agricultural waste into sustainable low-carbon fuels, renewable natural gas, and green methanol using scalable technologies, and has attracted investments from the world’s largest shipping company (and fellow MI member) A.P. Moller-Maersk. WasteFuel is also developing additional projects including a biorefinery in Manila, Philippines, to produce low-carbon aviation fuels.
Greenfield Global provides raw materials, ingredients and additives. Its Quebec facility is an example of low-carbon renewable fuel production and circular innovation. Greenfield partnered with the Port of Montreal to develop and commercialise green hydrogen and methanol solutions for the maritime industry. It is also working in collaboration with Hydro Quebec to develop an e-methanol project adjacent to its ethanol plant in Varennes, Quebec. The initial phase of this project will include a 60MW electrolysis unit for the production of hydrogen. Hydrogen output from the electrolyzer, along with biogenic CO2 from the ethanol plant will be fed to a methanol synthesis unit to produce approximately 48,000 t/a of low-carbon methanol.
MI CEO Greg Dolan welcomed the companies to MI, noting that “We are pleased that WasteFuel, a company on the cutting edge of innovation, has decided to join the growing ranks of MI members looking to provide the clean fuels of today and tomorrow. Greenfield Global’s expertise in innovation and low-carbon fuel production spans decades. MI is delighted to welcome Greenfield as our newest member and have them join our ranks of companies committed to providing low-carbon fuels.’
GTL proposal for North Dakota
Canadian company Cerilon Inc has announced plans for the development of a $2.8 billion gas to liquids (GTL) plant at Trenton in the west of North Dakota. State officials indicated that they would be providing $3 million in initial investment via the Department of Commerce, with more state funding for the project likely down the line. The project would aim to convert natural gas that would otherwise be flared from oil production in the Bakken field. North Dakota has long struggled to find uses for the large amounts of associated natural gas produced from its oil fields; the state lacks the pipeline infrastructure to capture, utilise and export all of its natural gas output, meaning that many companies end up flaring the gas on site, amounting to 8% of all gas produced. Furthermore, as the wells in the Bakken formation continue to mature, they will produce higher and higher volumes of natural gas, output that could eventually put a cap on North Dakota’s oil production because of regulatory requirements on flaring. Cerilon’s proposed GTL plant would produce 24,000 bbl/d of diesel, jet fuel, naphtha and base oils, with construction aiming to begin in 2023, but other details about the project are scarce.
Blue hydrogen to account for 85% of low-carbon hydrogen capacity in North America by 2030
Analyst company GlobalData says that it expects low-carbon hydrogen production in North America to nearly triple by 2030, reaching 1.4 million t/a. Most of this will be driven by blue hydrogen, which is expected to make up 85% of low-carbon hydrogen capacity by 2030.
Miles Weinstein, Energy Transition Analyst at GlobalData, commented: “Blue hydrogen production in North America is some of the cheapest in the world due to low natural gas prices and an abundance of suitable sites for geological carbon storage. Still, the cost of blue hydrogen production in the US is $1.52/ kg, compared to $1/kg for grey hydrogen. While Canadian costs are comparable, Canada leads the US in blue hydrogen due mainly to existing natural gas extraction and carbon sequestration infrastructure, as well as funding for low carbon vehicles and fuels. In most other global regions, however, the capacity of green hydrogen plants far outpaces that of blue due to higher natural gas prices or, in some cases, cheap renewable electricity.
“While blue hydrogen is more expensive to produce than grey, US tax credits for carbon capture and storage effectively reduce the cost of blue hydrogen to $1.26/kg, reaching $1.11/kg by 2026. A similar tax credit is currently under consideration in Canada.”
Producers of green and blue hydrogen in North America are targeting the transportation sector more than any other as a potential market. Meanwhile, automotive manufacturers, oil and gas companies, and others are beginning to build up a value chain for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and hydrogen fuelling infrastructure. This is evidenced by recent industry partnerships, deals, and other activity in the hydrogen transportation sector, including a high-profile alliance between Chevron and Toyota to catalyse hydrogen transportation markets. Companies such as US-based Nikola Motor and ZeroAvia, have centred their business on medium- and heavy-duty hydrogen vehicles and hydrogen powered aircraft, respectively.
CHINA
CO2 -to-methanol plant
Chinese petrochemicals corporation Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemicals Co. Ltd has signed an agreement with Icelandic technology company Carbon Recycling International to design a chemical plant based on CRI’s Emissions to Liquids (ETL) technology. The plant will recycle approximately 150,000 t/a of CO2 and consume 20,000 t/a of hydrogen taken from other on-site processes to produce 100,000 t/a of methanol. The plant will be built in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province on the east coast of China, and will be integrated by Jiangsu Sailboat into their 15 km2 Shenghong petrochemical industrial park.
Methanol is the main raw material used in Jiangsu Sailboat’s existing 2.4 million t/a production of a wide product range of polymers and plastics. These include products used for making solar panels and plexiglass. The CRI ETL plant’s direct use of 150,000 t/a of CO2 , will equal the effect of taking 53,000 fossil fuelled cars off the roads. The plant will be owned and operated by Jiangsu Sailboat and is expected to begin its operation in 2023. The cost of the project is estimated at around $35 million. It will be the second plant in China based on CRI’s ETL technology. The first CRI project, the Shunli plant in Anyang, Henan province, is currently in the final stages of construction and expected to be in operation early next year.
“This agreement is exemplary of what the chemical industry can do to contribute to the fight against climate change. By utilising waste and by-product resources in an innovative way we can take the necessary steps to reduce emissions and replace traditional fossil fuels in the production of most of our consumer products.” said Ingolfur Gudmundsson, CEO of CRI.
CHILE
Construction begins on green methanol facility
Construction has begun on a new green methanol facility in Chile. The Haru Oni project will use wind energy from the southern Magallanes province power hydrogen production from electrolysis. CO2 will be filtered from the air and combined with the green hydrogen to produce synthetic methanol for green fuel. The 100 t/a pilot plant is scheduled to start production in mid-2022. The capacity will then be expanded in two stages to around 43,500 t/a by 2024 and to around 435,000 t/a by 2026. The necessary environmental permits have now been obtained by the Chilean project company HIF (Highly Innovative Fuels). Siemens Energy has also already started preparatory work for the next major commercial phase of the project. Other partners in the project include Porsche and HIF, Enel, ExxonMobil, Gasco and ENAP.
“I’m pleased that we’re making progress on this international lighthouse project for the hydrogen economy together with strong international partners from business and politics,” said Armin Schnettler, EVP for New Energy Business at Siemens Energy. “With Haru Oni, we’re bringing our power-to-X technologies to the global market. We’re jointly developing and realising the world’s first integrated and commercial large-scale plant for producing synthetic, climate-neutral fuels. In southern Chile, we’re implementing one of the energy industry’s most exciting projects for the future and driving forward the decarbonisation of the mobility sector. It means we’re making an important and rapidly effective contribution to reducing CO2 emissions in the traffic and transport sector.”
Chile has set itself ambitious targets as part of its National Green Hydrogen Strategy. It plans an electrolyser capacity of 5 gigawatts (GW) by 2025, rising to 25 GW by 2030. The aim is to produce the world’s cheapest hydrogen and develop the country into a leading exporter of green hydrogen and its derivatives.
UNITED KINGDOM
Wind to hydrogen scheme proposed for Orkney
TotalEnergies and Repsol Sinopec are backing a proposal to transform the Flotta oil terminal in the Orkney islands off the northeast coast of Scotland into a green hydrogen production hub, which would be powered by renewable energy from an offshore wind farm. The plans are supported by a consortium including TotalEnergies and Australia’s Green Investment Group. The consortium is working on the hub project in partnership with Repsol Sinopec, which owns the Flotta terminal, and with hydrogen specialist Uniper. The firms working on the hydrogen plant proposal hope to be able to secure the funding and approvals required in time to be able to make a final investment decision in 2025 on whether to go ahead with the development.
Matthey and CRI to collaborate on sustainable methanol
Carbon Recycling International (CRI) and Johnson Matthey (JM) have agreed a long term exclusive catalyst supply agreement for the use of JM’s KATALCO™ methanol catalysts in CRI’s Emissions-To-Liquids (ETL) process, which will be used in CRI CO2 to methanol plants. Methanol manufactured using the ETL process and JM catalysts provides an effective route to produce sustainable methanol from CO2 , using carbon dioxide recovered either from industrial processes or biomass, such as waste and residues, or atmospheric sources. JM’s catalyst has been used in all CRI’s plants to date, and their successful ten year cooperation will continue with this agreement.
“The need for proven, scaled and commercial solutions to produce sustainable chemicals and fuels has never been more urgent. Continuation of our long-standing cooperation with JM ensures that CRI can further strengthen its leadership in CO2 -tomethanol technology and meet the needs of a growing number of clients adopting our flexible Emissions-to-Liquids technology,” said Ingólfur Guðmundsson, CEO of CRI.
“At Johnson Matthey our whole focus is about creating a world that is cleaner and healthier”, said John Gordon, Managing Director, Johnson Matthey. “We believe we have a critical role in decarbonising the way chemicals are produced. We are excited to continue our long standing cooperation with CRI, since 2011, through the development of green methanol, building a cleaner future based on reduced emissions and more sustainable use of natural resources.”
ITALY
NextChem and Johnson Matthey to commercially develop waste to methanol technology
MyRechemical, NextChem’s subsidiary dedicated to waste to chemical technologies, and Johnson Matthey (JM), are to jointly cooperate to commercially develop waste to methanol technology worldwide. The technology converts non-recyclable municipal waste, which would otherwise be disposed in landfill or incinerated, into valuable syngas used to produce methanol. Through the chemical conversion of non-recyclable municipal and industrial waste, mainly plastic and dry waste the resulting hydrogen and carbon oxides can be used to produce more sustainable chemical products using JM’s proven syngas-to-methanol technology. The methanol derived from this process can be used as an intermediate for low-carbon additives in the blending of gasoline and diesel, replacing the fossil-based component with one derived from recycling, as well as a raw material for the chemical, construction and plastic industries.
Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO of Maire Tecnimont Group and NextChem, commented: “The alliance with JM adds a new important piece to our business strategy. Circular methanol obtained from the technology on which we are partnering with JM can be used in better performing, low-carbon fuels for sustainable mobility, for example for the shipping sector, and as a more sustainable product for the chemical industry. There is a wide and promising market for such a product, aimed at driving the industry towards the use of more sustainable feedstocks, avoiding the consumption of natural resources. This technology, which is immediately applicable, provides a concrete answer to these needs”.
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
NiQuan to re-start this year?
NiQuan Energy, which manages the troubled gas to liquids facility at Pointe-a-Pierre, Trinidad, says that it is now looking to re-start production at the site by the end of 2021. The 2,500 bbl/d plant was conceived in 2005, and constructed next to the Petrotrin refinery at Pointe-a-Pierre by World GTL. However, although the plant was virtually completed in 2010, delays and cost overruns meant that it defaulted on its loan, which had been bought by Petrotrin from Credit Suisse, and the facility passed into government hands. But Petrotrin had no interest in operating it, and even planned to sell it as scrap at one point, before it was sold in 2016 to NiQuan, who aimed to get the facility up and running again. NiQuan have however faced their own delays, not least with Covid, but in March this year the company finally announced the plant’s commissioning, until it was shut down in April following an explosion. NiQuan raised more finance in May while an investigation was carried out into the incident, but now hope to have the plant restarted by the New Year.
MALAYSIA
Petronas unit to provide support services for mega-methanol plant
Petronas Global Technical Solutions has entered into an agreement with Sarawak Petchem Sdn Bhd to provide advisory and technical support services for Sarawak’s first mega methanol plant. The agreement covers advice on technical services, procurement and turnaround, as well as critical operations and maintenance support for the landmark Sarawak Methanol Project throughout its project execution and operation stages. Sarawak Petchem is currently constructing a 1.7 million t/a gas-based methanol plant at Bintulu, the first in the state.
with an annual capacity of 1.7 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa). Its plant in Bintulu is currently under construction.
INDIA
Technip to build green hydrogen plant
Technip Energies has been awarded an engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract by NTPC for its proton exchange membrane (PEM)based hydrogen project at Vindhyachal, Madhya Pradesh. The contract covers the delivery of a 5 MW hydrogen electrolysis unit which can be powered using renewable electricity in the future. NTPC is setting up this plant along with two other units; a CO2 capture facility that takes carbon dioxide from flue gas stream of the coal fired power plant; and a downstream methanol unit that will use the captured CO2 and the hydrogen from the electrolyser to convert it into green methanol.
Pilot plant for high ash coal conversion to methanol
India has developed an indigenous technology to convert high ash Indian coal to methanol and established its first pilot plant in Hyderabad, according to the country’s Department of Science and Technology. Coal-to-methanol plants in most countries are operated with low ash coals, and the high ash content of Indian coals can require higher heat to melt the ash. In order to overcome this challenge, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has developed a fluidised bed gasification technology to produce syngas and then convert the syngas to methanol with 99% purity. BHEL has integrated its existing coal to syngas pilot plant at Hyderabad with a downstream process for converting syngas into 0.25 t/d of methanol. This pilot has been initiated by NITI Aayog and funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under its Clean Energy Research Initiative.
GERMANY
New methanol synthesis arrangement
Clariant, together with long-term partner in methanol synthesis Air Liquide have announced a new methanol synthesis setup; MegaZonE. Based on Clariant’s Mega-Max® catalyst series, the new arrangement uses several layers of catalysts with different activity levels to optimise heat management and overall catalyst performance in the methanol synthesis reactor. The properties of each catalyst layer are tailored to the specific conditions along the reaction pathway, which, the companies say, results in a significantly longer catalyst lifetime (by up to 2 years) and increased cumulative methanol production (up to 15%). Increased efficiency of the methanol synthesis loop means that it can be operated at milder conditions. Catalysts with moderate activity are loaded in hotter zones of the converter to prevent hotspots, while activity-enhanced catalysts are placed further down the reaction pathway to intensify reaction rates in the lower portion of the converter. On the one hand, less thermal stress on catalysts will lead to longer catalyst lifetimes. On the other hand, high activity in the bottom part of the reactor increases reaction rates and reduces by-product formation by up to 10%.
MegaZonE technology is a drop-in solution and enables tailored refill options for optimisation of existing units. It also allows a more compact and resilient design for new plants. The arrangement has already been in use at two world-scale methanol plants in Asia this year, and has shown stable performance.
INEOS green hydrogen project
INEOS, via its subsidiary INOVYN, has announced plans to build a large-scale, 100 MW electrolyser to produce green hydrogen at the company’s Koln site in Germany. Hydrogen from the new unit would be used in the production of green ammonia, reducing carbon emissions at Koln by more than 120,000 t/a. The project will also look to develop E-Fuels through power-to-methanol applications at INEOS Köln on an industrial scale. Hydrogen will also be made available for other processes at the site, to chemical park operator Currenta – who will also provide important infrastructure to the project – and to other users in the region, to support the local sustainability agenda. The project has successfully passed the first selection phase of the EU IPCEI (Important Projects of Common European Interest) process.
INEOS has committed $2.3 billion to green hydrogen development over the next few years, including a concept fuel-cell version of its Grenadier fuel cell car, using Hyundai technology, which will be built at the former Smart factory in Hambach, France, which was slated to produce electric cars before Smart parent Daimler sold it to Ineos.
