Are there plants that produce methanol from natural gas? Economic?
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Are there plants that produce methanol from natural gas? Economic?
What about the natural gas to methanol route? The cost is not low; it’s higher than that of coal-based versions
Natural gas is an important raw material for producing methanol.
Are there any plants in China that produce methanol from natural gas at present?
In China, there is the CNOOC Jiantao methanol plant with an annual production capacity of 600,000 tons. There are many such facilities abroad, mostly in North America; for example, a methanol plant with a capacity of 1.8 million tons in Illinois, United States, and a methanol plant with a capacity of 900,000 tons in Trinidad and Tobago.
In China, there is the CNOOC Jiantao methanol plant with an annual production capacity of 600,000 tons. There are many such facilities abroad, mostly in North America; for example, a methanol plant with a capacity of 1.8 million tons in Illinois, United States, and a methanol plant with a capacity of 900,000 tons in Trinidad and Tobago.
Some domestic companies are planning to build a methanol plant with a capacity of 5.4 million tons in Djibouti, Africa.
Sinopec Chuanwei also has a methanol production facility capable of producing 870,000 tons per year from natural gas.
Not necessarily; it depends on the region and origin.
An evaluation should be conducted from an economic perspective. Natural gas is too expensive in China, at 3 yuan per Nm3, so it is not suitable for methanol production; in China, methanol is produced from coal. Natural gas abroad is very cheap, at only 0.3 yuan per Nm3; that’s why methanol is produced from natural gas in those countries.