What are the future prospects for methanol?
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The company plans to install a facility for producing methanol using coal as raw material; could experts please share their views on its future prospects?
I’m not an expert; I’m just sharing some of my own opinions. The technology for producing methanol from coal is mature, with no significant technical barriers. If you want to get involved in this project, there are many things to consider: for example, resource issues; if your company already owns coal mines, then that’s not a problem ； Then there’s water – the production of methanol from coal requires a large amount of water, with around 10 to 15 tons of water per ton of methanol produced. Additionally, wastewater disposal and treatment pose significant challenges as well. Then there are downstream applications; currently, efforts are being made to use methanol in gasoline, but **no strict regulations have been established yet. If new areas of application for methanol do not generate substantial demand in the future, relying solely on demand from traditional sectors will not be sufficient to ensure a good situation. Therefore, you need to first consider integrating upstream and downstream operations; it is best to create an industrial chain in order to remain competitive. By the way, I’m not sure if it’s difficult to get approvals for coal chemical projects these days; that’s also an issue
Now, there are many such coal chemical enterprises. I don’t know what the situation will be this year; last year’s situation was not good.
The waste industry – those who get involved in it end up suffering severely, and no one comes out unscathed. Methanol costs 2,000 yuan per ton these days – what’s the profit in that?