Tag: Methanol

M. Baerends of Fluor reports on the conception, engineering, construction, commissioning and start-up of a new sulphuric acid plant that replaced an existing acid plant at a European sour gas processing terminal. This highly complex gas processing facility handles sour gas from an off-shore field, containing H2 S that must be removed to meet transmission grid specifications. Various issues encountered, their resolution by the joint owner, Fluor and Topsoe team, and plant operating results are discussed.

Johnson Matthey (JM) has secured a multiple licence for China’s Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group’s latest project to develop five of the largest single train methanol plants in the world. Located at Baofeng’s Ordos City complex in Inner Mongolia, the five plants each have a planned capacity 7,200 t/d. Under the agreement Johnson Matthey will be the licensor of all five plants and supplier of associated engineering, technical review, commissioning assistance, and catalyst. The plants will take synthesis gas as a feed and use JM radial steam raising converters in a patented series loop. Within the design, there is potential for 1-2% more feedstock efficiency over the life of the catalyst. Thanks to JM’s methanol loop synthesis technology, the plants will provide enhanced energy savings along with low OPEX, CAPEX and emissions. When complete, the plants will represent JM’s 13th operating license in China for a mega-scale plant (>5,500 t/d) and the fourth JM methanol design licensed by Ningxia Baofeng Energy.

Natural gas pricing remains the dominant component of ammonia production costs. The fall in global oil and gas prices due to the Covid outbreak and the continued growth in the LNG market is continuing to break the hold of oil indexation on gas pricing. Meanwhile, reform of gas markets continues, in places as diverse as Brazil, China and India.

Ammonia supplies have been curtailed by production shutdowns, including Kaltim and PT PAU in Indonesia, SABIC and Ma’aden in Saudi Arabia, Sorfert in Algeria and Chinese gas-based producers. There have also been gas curtailments in Iran and Trinidad.

In a carbon-constrained world, carbon capture and utilisation or storage (CCUS) installed on a methanol plant is a necessary and feasible solution. The new, patented AdWinMethanol CC® technology, jointly developed by thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions AG and GasConTec GmbH, integrates carbon capture into large-scale, natural gas-fuelled methanol production to yield a drastically reduced carbon footprint. U. Koss and W. Balthasar of GasConTec and J. Wagner of thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions discuss how it removes CO 2 emissions in an efficient, cost effective, and environmentally friendly manner, taking advantage of the design features of AdWinMethanol ® .

Johnson Matthey and KBR have announced that they have signed a global strategic alliance agreement to license a new ammonia-methanol co-production process that combines the companies’ ammonia and methanol process technologies. The companies say that the co-production process makes the most of synergies between the two technologies, maximising savings while offering the highest levels of safety, flexibility and reliability.

A few years ago DME production from methanol gave a major boost to world methanol demand, with DME being used as a blendstock for LPG. However, demand plateaued and DME has not had the takeoff that its proponents feel it should have. Could new renewable DME processes give it the boost it needs?

A look back at some of the major events of 2020 for the nitrogen and syngas-based industries, as well as a look forward as to how 2021 might look.

Ammonia prices have been on a rising trend over the past few months as plant closures begin to make themselves felt. Yara’s Baltic ammonia price also rose sharply at the start of October, and Nutrien’s announcement of the closure of its PCS-03 plant on Trinidad helped lift prices, with Yara and Mosaic’s contract prices rising $16/t in October.

The ammonia market continues to be oversupplied, and prices have dropped to historically low levels. Yuzhnyy rates dropped to $175/t f.o.b. in July. In spite of shutdowns in Trinidad and elsewhere, demand remains sluggish and recovery from the Covid epidemic is patchy, especially in the US.