MefCO2 - Methanol fuel from CO2
Synthesis of methanol from captured carbon dioxide using surplus electricity
April 2016
MefCO2 at a glance
Our project:
MefCO2 (Methanol fuel from CO2) aims to demonstrate the economic feasibility of valorising
captured CO2 by turning it into a versatile platform chemical and renewable fuel such as methanol
using hydrogen produced from renewable energy surplus.
Our team:
MefCO2 is a joint effort of multinational companies, SMEs and research centers from 7 countries
• i-deals (Spain)  Coordination, dissemination & exploitation
• National Institute of Chemistry Slovenia (Slovenia)  Catalysis and reaction engineering
• Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe (Germany)  System integrator
Subcontractor: STEAG (Germany)  Power plant owner
• 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
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Our approach: MefCO2
H2 production 600 kW PEM electrolyser
507 MW Coal fired power plant
Lünen (Germany)
Post-combustion CO2
amine scrubber
MeOH plant
Max MeOH output
1000 kg/day
Max CO2 input
1500 kg/day
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Our progress
D1.1 - Set of catalysts and their characterisation
MS1 - 60 synthesised catalysts in mg amounts
MS2 - 60 synthesised catalysts characterized
MS3 - Performance of 60 synthesised catalysts tested
D5.3 & MS14 - Annual coordination report (1)
D5.1 - Business plan
D5.2 - Dissemination and exploitation plan
TODAY
WP1: 92 catalysts synthesised, characterised and performance tested (target 60)
WP2: Process conditions analysis using the 30 most promising catalysts from WP1
WP3: Basic engineering, basic on-site arrangement plan & preliminary thermo economic model
completed preliminary thermo economic model completed
WP4: Construction initiated of a custom PEM electrolyser
WP5: BP completed and dissemination initiated in investment and policy forums, universities.
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Project outcomes
WP2: Effect of process conditions during continuous operations
WP1 and WP2 progress:
Responsible partners
•
WP1: 92 catalysts have been synthesised and characterized (from
standard CZA to Ni-Ga-Si candidate).
•
WP2: Research on process conditions is being carried out with the 30
most promising catalysts synthetized and characterised in WP1.
•
WP2: Modeling of different reactor configurations.
Workflow with different catalyst particle sizes and shapes
SEM –EDS characterisation of catalyst tested in WP2
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Project outcomes
WP3: Scale up to industrial process and linking reactant and products sides
WP3 progress:
Responsible partners
•
Basic engineering completed
•
Permitting process and on-site preparations underway
•
HAZID-HAZOP studies close to finalisation
•
Preliminary thermo-economic analysis
Preliminary evaluation of the main cost/revenue sources
3D model of the turbine hall with all the test rigs
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Expected benefits
Environmental benefits
•
CCU creates revenue streams from CO2 partially compensating CCS associated costs and
contributing to accelerating its deployment.
•
Green methanol blending with gasoline or green methanol derived fuels (DME, MTBE)
contribute to the EC’s 10% target of renewable energy use in transportation and the non
binding 0,5% share of advanced fuels.
Social benefits
•
Job creation: A 50,000+ ton/year green methanol production plant can create 80-120 direct
jobs and more than 500 indirect jobs1
•
Job preservation: CCU+CCS can help carbon leakage sensitive industries, such as the steel
or cement industry, to maintain its competiveness while reducing their emissions.
Economic benefits
•
MefCO2 results could contribute to the reduction of the dependency on methanol imports in
the EU-28. 6.3 Mtons1 where imported between Dec 2014-Nov 2015
•
Increasing direct blending of methanol with gasoline in the EU-28 up to 3% v/v limit2 would
add 2.2 Mton/years of additional methanol demand (1 Mtoe of gasoline exports could be
replaced on a energy content basis).
1
L. Bromberg and W.K. Cheng (2010), Methanol as an alternative transportation fuel in the US: Options for sustainable and/or energy-secure
transportation. Indirect job creation multiple can be between 5,3 and 9.
2Source: Eurostat
3 Directive 98/70/EC, as amended by Directive 2009/30/EC
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Contact: [email protected]