Methanol production from coke oven gas
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Regarding our unit’s 12.5-year plan, we intend to build facilities for producing methanol from 2 million tons of coke oven gas, as well as facilities for producing olefins from 600,000 tons of coal. Please share your views on how many coke ovens would be needed to meet the production requirements in each case. With coal being relatively expensive in Shanxi, are such projects competitive? What will be their benefits in the future?
To produce 2 million tons of methanol per year, 20 million tons of coke gas, a by-product of coke production, is required. And to produce 20 million tons of coke, how many tons of raw coal are needed? Nearly 100 million tons. I ask, is such a project competitive?
This is a new type of technology; there are very few companies across the country that use it. Currently, methanol is still produced on a large scale using natural gas! So specific issues in this regard still need to be calculated!
I am currently producing methanol from 200,000 tons of coke oven gas, using the gas generated by coke ovens in coking plants – it is entirely waste gas that is being utilized. The profits from methanol are still good right now!
I am currently producing methanol from 200,000 tons of coke oven gas, using the gas generated by coke ovens in coking plants – it is entirely waste gas that is being utilized. The profits from methanol are still good right now!
Generally speaking, methanol production from coke oven gas is not the primary production process; it is essentially a production route that makes maximum use of by-products for circular economy purposes. It also has another economic recycling pathway that differs from traditional production methods; it utilizes coal tar and coke oven gas, which are by-products of coke production, to manufacture naphtha and diesel of suitable quality. In this process, hydrogen is produced from coke oven gas, followed by the hydrogenation of medium- and low-temperature coal tar. This process already has 500,000-ton-scale plants in operation successfully in the domestic market. As for building a 600,000-ton coal-to-olefins plant, if the methanol raw materials are available in sufficient quantities in the vicinity, or if coal resources are abundant, it is entirely possible to produce olefins directly through coal-to-olefins or MTO processes. There is no need to produce large amounts of coke first, then use the by-product coke oven gas to make methanol and subsequently olefins; this approach is rather counterproductive.