Hynol -- An economic process for methanol production from biomass and natural gas with reduced CO{sub 2} emission

Technical Report · Fri Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1993

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/142499· OSTI ID:142499

Steinberg, M ^[1]; Dong, Yuanji ^[2]

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1. Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)
2. Hynol Corp., New York, NY (United States)

The Hynol process is proposed to meet the demand for an economical process for methanol production with reduced CO{sub 2} emission. This new process consists of three reaction steps: (a) hydrogasification of biomass, (b) steam reforming of the produced gas with additional natural gas feedstock, and (c) methanol synthesis of the hydrogen and carbon monoxide produced during the previous two steps. The H{sub 2}-rich gas remaining after methanol synthesis is recycled to gasify the biomass in an energy neutral reactor so that there is no need for an expensive oxygen plant as required by commercial steam gasifiers. Recycling gas allows the methanol synthesis reactor to perform at a relatively lower pressure than conventional while the plant still maintains high methanol yield. Energy recovery designed into the process minimizes heat loss and increases the process thermal efficiency. If the Hynol methanol is used as an alternative and more efficient automotive fuel, an overall 41% reduction in CO{sub 2} emission can be achieved compared to the use of conventional gasoline fuel. A preliminary economic estimate shows that the total capital investment for a Hynol plant is 40% lower than that for a conventional biomass gasification plant. The methanol production cost is $0.43/gal for a 1085 million gal/yr Hynol plant which is competitive with current U.S. methanol and equivalent gasoline prices. Process flowsheet and simulation data using biomass and natural gas as cofeedstocks are presented. The Hynol process can convert any condensed carbonaceous material, especially municipal solid waste (MSW), to produce methanol.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76CH00016
• OSTI ID: 142499
• Report Number(s): BNL--49733; ON: DE94008872
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
09 BIOMASS FUELS
33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION ABATEMENT
BIOMASS
CARBON DIOXIDE
COPROCESSING
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FUEL SUBSTITUTION
GASIFICATION
METHANATION
METHANOL
NATURAL GAS
STEAM REFORMER PROCESSES
SYNTHESIS
SYNTHETIC FUELS REFINERIES