Current Development Status of Methanol-to-Olefins

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Current Development Status of Methanol-to-Olefins Production Author/Source: Date: 2018-11-27 Clicks: 17 The main downstream product of coal-to-olefins is ethylene, and there is a strong demand with a significant shortage. Coal-based olefins, also known as olefins produced from coal-derived methanol, refer to the technology in which coal is used as a raw material to produce methanol, which is then used to manufacture olefins such as ethylene and propylene. The main end products of this process are ethylene and its by-product propylene; ethylene is a key component of the petrochemical industry, and there is a significant demand for it. In 2017, the ethylene production capacity was 23.3 million tons, with output of around 18.22 million tons, representing a 2% increase on a year-on-year basis ； The apparent consumption volume reached 20.37 million tons, a 5% increase year-on-year ； Meanwhile, imports in 2017 reached around 2.16 million tons, the import dependence continued to rise to 11%, and the demand gap widened further. With mature technical processes, coal-to-olefins has achieved scaled development. There are mainly three mainstream technologies for producing olefins: coal-to-olefins (MTO), propane dehydrogenation to produce olefins, and naphtha-to-olefins. Among these, coal-to-olefins is further divided into coal-to-ethylene and coal-to-propylene (MTP). Due to the scarcity of natural gas resources, as well as the environmental concerns associated with coal-based olefin production and the immaturity of related processing technologies, the naphtha route has always been the main method for olefin production. With the development of MTO process technology in recent years and the resulting reduction in the costs associated with coal-to-olefins production, taking advantage of its sustainability and low production costs, coal-to-olefins projects have begun to emerge, and it is expected that such projects will achieve large-scale commercial production. To date, 21 coal-to-olefins projects have been put into operation, with a planned production capacity of 13.71 million tons per year; the actual production capacity is around 12.42 million tons per year. Most of these operating projects utilize MTO technology, and in 2017, the output from coal-to-olefins projects was 9.93 million tons per year. Currently, the demand gap for downstream olefins is continuing to widen, providing ample room for growth in coal-to-olefins production. The low costs and high profits ensure the steady expansion of coal-to-olefins projects. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, there were 16 coal-based olefin projects under construction, with a total production capacity of around 14.19 million tons per year. Additionally, 8 projects were planned to be built, with a planned production capacity of about 5.55 million tons per year. If all these planned and under-construction projects come online, they will add another 19.74 million tons per year to the production capacity, bringing the total production capacity for coal-based olefins above 30 million tons per year.