Questions regarding the methanol process
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I now know that methanol can be produced using coal and natural gas as raw materials. Who can compare the advantages and disadvantages of these two methods? It would be best to explain the process in detail
Relatively speaking, the prices of natural gas and coal have a greater impact on operating costs, so the investment cost is likely to be higher for coal. There is also considerable pressure related to environmental protection in terms of coal. The process route for coal balls is relatively long.
A process method for producing methanol synthesis gas via the conversion of hydrocarbons and water vapor, characterized in that it includes: feeding gaseous hydrocarbon feedstock and water vapor into a first-stage converter, where a conversion reaction between the gaseous hydrocarbons and water vapor takes place; adding CO2 to the gas output from the first-stage converter, and then introducing oxygen before sending the mixture to a second-stage converter, where a more thorough conversion reaction of the gaseous hydrocarbons and water vapor occurs. The H2/C ratio of the gas output from the second-stage converter is adjusted by controlling the amounts of CO2 and O2 added, and the gas output from the second-stage converter constitutes the methanol synthesis gas.
The cost of producing methanol through gasification and natural gas conversion is determined by the prices of their raw materials. However, given China’s situation of having abundant coal but limited natural gas, **the construction of methanol plants using natural gas conversion is strictly controlled. At present, most of it is coal-based methanol, while natural gas is mainly used as fuel. The main reaction for natural gas conversion is: CH4 + H2O = CO + 3H2. There are two types of conversion processes: primary conversion and secondary conversion. For the conversion of natural gas directly into methanol, CO2 must be added to the process in order to adjust the C/H ratio
It’s worth learning about it. Relatively speaking, the cost of producing methanol from natural gas is lower than that using coal, and the investment required is also less. However, natural gas is currently in short supply, with frequent shortages occurring.
Natural gas: Advantages: short and simple process flow； Easy to scale up to large or very large production sizes ； High degree of automation ； Low energy consumption ； Less waste of the three types ； Disadvantage: There is a shortage of natural gas in the country, so the project is constrained by resource limitations. Coal: Advantages: Abundant coal resources in the country ； Disadvantages: complex process, long procedure ； Scaling up is limited by technical constraints, especially those related to gasification technology ； High energy consumption ； There are many wastes.
**Given the restrictions on converting natural gas into methanol, the rising price of natural gas, and China’s reliance on coal, converting coal into methanol remains the main approach!