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Methanol represents one of the most common and widespread platform chemicals and precursors for further synthesis, and is traditionally produced from synthesis gas, obtained by the reforming of natural gas. This methanol synthesis process operates in a stable, high-throughput manner and demands low carbon dioxide/carbon monoxide ratios in feed. The current project is to encompass flexible (in operation and feed) methanol synthesis with high carbon dioxide concentration-streams as an input, the latter originating from thermal power stations using fossil fuels.
The technology is also intended for the application of existing biomass combustion and gasification system streams, operating for the production of electric/thermal energy, as opposed to chemical synthesis. The other synthesis reactant, hydrogen, is to originate from water hydrolysis using surplus energy, which would be conversely difficult to return to the grid.
The key benefits of the project are listed below:
More information can be found here.
The main aim of MefCO₂ is to develop an innovative green chemical production technology which contributes significantly to the European objectives of decreasing CO₂ emissions and increasing renewable energy usage.
The overall concept underpinning the project lies in the utilisation of ordinarily emitted greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and hydrogen, produced from redundant electrical energy into a widely-useable platform chemical, methanol. The technology is being designed in a modular intermediate-scale, with the aim of being able to adapt it to varying plant sizes and gas composition.
The work packages which make up the project are the following:
The following are the partners of the MefCO₂ project:
- i-deals (Spain): Coordination, dissemination & exploitation. - National Institute of Chemistry Slovenia (Slovenia): Catalysis and reaction engineering. - Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe (Germany): System integrator. - Cardiff Catalysis Institute (UK): Research in catalyst synthesis. - Carbon Recycling International (Iceland): CO₂ to methanol technology developer. - DIME - University of Genoa (Italy): Thermo-economic analysis and process optimisation. - Hydrogenics Europe (Belgium): Electrolyser technology developer. - University of Duisburg Essen (Germany): CO₂ capture technology provider. - RWE (Germany): Electric utility, PCC plant operator and MefCO2 site owner.
MefCO₂'s deliverables are listed below:
- D1.1: Set of catalysts and their characterisation. - D2.1: Operational laboratory-scale reactors. - D2.2: Operational laboratory-scale reaction models. - D3.1: Plant design and thermo-economic analysis. - D3.2: Plant engineering. - D3.3: Plant's life cycle analysis. - D3.4: Technology roadmap. - D4.1: Electrolyser delivery. - D5.1: Business plan. - D5.2: Dissemination and exploitation plan. - D5.3: Annual coordination report (1). - D5.4: Annual coordination report (2). - D5.5: Annual coordination report (3). - D5.6: Annual coordination report (4).
Ángel Sánchez Díaz Rocío Pacios Bleinangel.sanchez@everis.com rocio.pacios.blein@everis.com T: +34 91 749 00 00 T: +34 91 749 00 00 www.i-deals.es www.i-deals.es Av. Manoteras, 52 28050 Madrid, Spain