Syngas News Roundup

Syngas News

UNITED KINGDOM

INEOS to build blue hydrogen plant

INEOS says that it is aiming to forward its plans for a ‘net zero’ future for its Grangemouth site in Scotland by inviting major engineering design contractors to tender for the next stage of the design of a world scale carbon capture enabled hydrogen plant and associated infrastructure.

Stuart Collings, CEO INEOS O&P UK, said, “We are progressing at pace with our commitment to deliver our Net Zero plans. This will see the displacement of hydrocarbon fuels used at Grangemouth, like natural gas, with clean, low carbon hydrogen to power our processes and manufacture vital materials used across a wide range of sectors. To achieve this, we are inviting bids from the best engineering companies to design both a state of the art carbon capture enabled hydrogen production plant and… related infrastructure projects. The carbon dioxide from this project will be routed to the Scottish Cluster’s Acorn CO2 transport and storage project, resulting in reductions of more than one million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.”

INEOS has already committed over £500 million ($670 million) on projects across the site including a New Energy Plant which is due to commission in late 2023. This plant will employ highly efficient technology to supply energy to all site operations and drive down emissions by at least 150,000 t/a of CO2 . It will subsequently be converted to run on hydrogen to further reduce emissions.

Access to locally produced hydrogen will have benefits for other assets at the Grangemouth Site, fuelling the existing Combined Heat and Power Plant, the KG Ethylene Plant and assets in the Petroineos Refinery. This will require a new hydrogen distribution network throughout the site and modifications to the existing fuel gas network. The project will tie into the Scottish Cluster carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure. In excess of 1 million t/a of CO2 from the hydrogen plant will be sent through existing gas pipelines to depleted offshore reservoirs under the North Sea.

UK government to boost production of hydrogen from biomass

The UK government has launched a new £5 million ($6.7 million) programme to help develop innovative technologies that produce hydrogen via bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). This will involve gasification and partial oxidation of a biomass feed and subsequent carbon capture and storage, resulting in carbon negative hydrogen for use as a clean fuel. The programme forms part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, which aims to accelerate the commercialisation of innovative clean energy technologies and processes through the 2020s and 2030s.

BEIS intends to use the Hydrogen BECCS Innovation Programme to support the development of low cost, energy and material efficient technologies which will optimise biomass and waste feedstocks for use in advanced gasification, as well as the development of advanced gasification technology components that can be used to convert biomass or waste into aviation fuel, diesel, hydrogen, methane and other hydrocarbons. It also hopes to support the development of novel biohydrogen technologies, such as dark fermentation, anaerobic digestion and wastewater treatment, which can be combined with carbon capture.

UNITED STATES

Topsoe to supply technology for renewable aviation fuel plants

Haldor Topsoe says that it has agreed to provide technologies for two renewable fuel production plants in the US. Indaba Renewable Fuels is a US-based waste-torenewable fuels company aiming to convert a mix of plant and animal oils, fats, and grease-based feedstock into ‘sustainable aviation fuel’. Indaba will construct two 6,500 bbl/d greenfield plants in California and Missouri based on Topsoe’s Hydro-Flex™ technology, with production due to begin in 2024. Topsoe will also provide its H2bridge™ hydrogen technology to both facilities, based on a modular, efficient convection reformer technology, which further replaces fossil fuels with renewable liquids like LPG or naphtha to lower the carbon intensity of the products.

“We are excited to provide Indaba with refining technology and catalysts as they initiate production of renewable fuels in the United States. Our HydroFlex™ solution is designed to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) based on renewable feedstock, with a minimal Carbon Intensity (CI score) compared to traditional petroleum aviation fuel,” says Henrik Rasmussen, managing director, The Americas for Haldor Topsoe.

IRAN

Methanol plant shut down by gas supply issues

Iran’s Kaveh methanol plant has reportedly halted production due to problems with natural gas supply. The plant, based in the southern province of Bushehr, was forced to idle after the state-run National Gas Company ordered a 50% reduction in supply of natural gas to the company and the price of gas being supplied rose to a reported $8.80/ MMBtu. Kaveh Methanol said in a letter to petrochemical producers that this price was uncompetitive compared with rates in Europe and in the US, and that it would raise the price of each tonne of methanol produced to at least $430/t. Gas has been in short supply in Iran because of increased demand due to freezing cold winter temperatures.

BELGIUM

Topsoe joins Hydrogen Council

Haldor Topsoe has become a member of Hydrogen Council. Topsoe says that it hopes to promote green hydrogen solutions and accelerate Power-to-X solutions for hard to abate sectors including steel, cement, mining, and heavy transportation. It is the first Danish company to join the Council.

“We are excited to join the Hydrogen Council as it resonates very well with Topsoe’s mission to help our customers reduce their carbon footprint radically every year,” said Roeland Baan, CEO of Topsoe. “We look forward to cooperation with the Council’s members to accelerate the deployment of green hydrogen solutions in the hard-toabate sectors – and pass on a better world to our children.”

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

Proman agrees partnership with NGC

Proman, operator of the Methanol Holdings Trinidad Ltd (MHTL) methanol plants on Trinidad, says that it has entered into a new partnership with gas supplier National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC). The arrangement, effective from January 2022, provides NGC with access to methanol produced at MHTL’s plants in the Point Lisas Industrial Estate which will be used to bolster the NGC’s commodity and trading portfolio as well as expand its reach into international methanol markets. The first cargoes will be traded in March 2022 according to Proman. Proman will take delivery of four of its six methanol-fuelled new build vessels this year, and Proman and NGC say that they are exploring the possibility of using these low emission ships to transport the methanol cargoes.

NGC’s President Mark Loquan said: “This new business collaboration between NGC and MHTL serves to strengthen the relationship between both parties by maximising the value to be derived from Trinidad and Tobago’s petrochemical capacity. It also demonstrates NGC’s commitment to look beyond our current business model and apply innovative thinking to create new opportunities for growing and diversifying our income streams. NGC will continue to evaluate similar value-adding activities in sustainable energy-related business, as we build our global brand of an integrated energy player, with a focus on marrying both our current business and future green business.”

INDIA

Four coal to chemicals plants on the agenda

India’s 2022-23 budget will include a provision for the development of four coal gasification and coal-to-chemicals pilot plants to assess the technical and financial viability of such projects, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The plants will have an eventual cost of $4 billion. The announcement forms part of India’s plan to emulate China’s success in producing methanol and ammonia from coal. The country has set itself a target of 100 million t/a of coal gasification capacity by 2030, at the same time that it cuts coal use in power production by half.

Reliance restructuring its gasification business

Reliance Industries Ltd says that it is spinning off its gasification assets into a subsidiary. The company says that this “will provide flexibility to induct suitable strategic partners and distinct sets of investors”. The $4 billion of assets are mainly based around the company’s petroleum coke gasification plant at Jamnagar. Reliance says that it plans to produce blue hydrogen at a “competitive cost” of about $1.20-$1.50/kg until the cost of green hydrogen comes down, at which time the syngas from the plant will be converted to chemicals.

MALAYSIA

Memorandum of understanding on blue and green hydrogen project

Samsung Engineering, Posco, Lotte Chemical and the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding for the development of a green hydrogen and ammonia project at Bintulu. The H2biscus Project is looking to convert hydro-electric power and natural gas to green hydrogen/methanol and blue hydrogen, and for the conversion of hydrogen to ammonia, aiming to supply hydrogen and ammonia to Korea and Sarawak. The project is expected to produce 7000 t/a of green hydrogen for Sarawak’s domestic market, 600,000 t/a of blue ammonia, 630,000 t/a of green ammonia and 460,000 t/a of green methanol. The feasibility study is nearing completion, after which the project is expected to move to front end engineering and design. The Bintulu site is already home to chemical process plants including the Petronas LNG Complex and Shell’s gas-toliquids facility.

The Taranaki Sun, one of Waterfront Shipping’s methanol tankers.

PHOTO: WATERFRONT SHIPPING

CANADA

Methanex sells minority stake in Waterfront Shipping

Methanex says that it has completed the sale of a 40% share in its Waterfront Shipping subsidiary to Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, at a cost of $145 million. Methanex will retain the remaining 60% majority interest in Waterfront and says it will continue to operate the company “as a key element of its global supply chain capabilities”.

NETHERLANDS

Joint venture to produce syngas from biomass

Dutch energy infrastructure firm Gasunie has formed a 50/50 joint venture with Perpetual Next to produce syngas from organic waste. Perpetual Next is a developer of torrefaction technology, which converts biomass at high temperatures into a more dense ‘biochar’, sometimes called ‘biocoal’, which can then be gasified to generate syngas. The two companies will develop and build the Torrgas Delfzijl project which will accept organic waste streams, green waste and scrap wood by barge for conversion into ‘green gas’. The plant will be sited in the Delfzijl chemical cluster, part of Chemport Europe. Perpetual Next will manage and operate the plant and Gasunie will distribute the gas which will be delivered underground to the built environment and industry via the national network. The project is expected to be operational by 2024 and start with green gas production of 12 million m3 per year.

“The collaborations with Gasunie and the location of Chemport Europe are strategically important to us,” said Martijn van Rheenen, co-founder of Perpetual Next. “It’s great to see that, in this way, the region will once again be supplying gas, but a future-proof alternative. The availability of raw materials, the space to build production facilities with new clean technologies, and the knowledge and expertise available make this the perfect environment.”

Ulco Vermeulen, member of Gasunie’s executive board, commented: “The goal in the Climate Agreement is to produce 2 billion m3 of green gas by 2030. With other parties, we are working to make green gas affordable and bring it to the market on a large scale. This project is in line with that ambition, and we are very confident that together we will achieve a sustainable, successful, and technologically advanced project.”

SOUTH AFRICA

Plastics to syngas power plant project

Irish based Kibo Energy has signed a 10 year power purchase contract with Sustinieri Energy for the power to be generated from a 2.7 MW plastics to syngas plant at an industrial park in Gauteng province, which encompasses Johannesburg and Pretoria. Sustinieri Energy is a 65-35 joint venture between Kibo and Industrial Green Energy Solutions (IGES). The facility will take non-recyclable plastics, which can no longer be deposited to landfill according to changes to South African law. The plastic waste will be pyrolised at 400°C to produce syngas, which is then burned to power a gas turbine. Sustineri Energy has awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the plant to Lesedi Nuclear Services. The capital cost of the project is expected to be $12 million, with financial close planned for 3Q 2022. Thereafter, the construction phase will take about 11 to 14 months to complete.

SAUDI ARABIA

Chemanol to expand methanol production

Saudi Arabian chemical producer Chemanol says that it is to proceed with plans to increase production at its methanol plant at Al Jubail by 100,000 t/a to 330,000 t/a, and that it has signed an agreement for the plant’s basic engineering design, though the contractor was not specified. Chemanol, formerly the Saudi Formaldehyde Chemical Company, is one of the world’s largest producers of formaldehyde, with a capacity of 1.0 million t/a. Additional methanol will be used as feedstock for new side streams, including dimethyl disulphide plant and methyl diethanolamine, according to the company.

INDONESIA

Work begins on coal gasification plant

Construction has begun on a new coal gasification based dimethyl ether (DME) plant at Murara Enim on South Sumatra. The plant will consume 6 million t/a of coal supplied by state coal miner Bukit Asam to produce 1.4 million t/a of DME. The aim is to use the DME as a blendstock for LPG in order to reduce Indonesia’s exports of LPG, which stood at 6.4 million t/a in 2021. The plant is being built by Bukit Asam, operating in partnership with Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Construction is slated to take 30 months and state energy company Pertamina is expected to take the DME produced from the plant.

EGYPT

Approval for waste-to-hydrogen plant

Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone has given H2 Industries preliminary approval for a $3 billion waste-to-hydrogen plant at Port Said. The plant will gasify 4 million t/a of organic and non-recyclable waste to produce 300,000 t/a of hydrogen at a site at the northern Mediterranean entrance to the Suez Canal. Michael Stusch, executive chairman and chief executive of H2 Industries, told local media that the plant is so far at the feasibility study stage, and is still subject to final approval from the General Authority of the Suez Canal Economic Zone. Construction time is estimated to be five years.