"Jumbo" Methanol Production Process Via Toyo Technology

Published September 2003

New discoveries of massive "stranded" natural gas reserves continue to spur interest in efficient new methanol production technologies capable of extremely large single train production capacities. The development of new methanol-to-olefins processes along with the growing use of gas turbines for electric power generation may represent major new mass markets for low cost "fuel" grade methanol produced by future "jumbo" methanol plants.

Important advances are being made in the natural gas reforming as well as in the methanol synthesis converter reactors, key reaction steps in the commercial synthesis of methanol from natural gas. Advances in heat exchange reforming technologies, currently under development by a number of licensers, along with advances in the scale and efficiency of cryogenic oxygen production appears to be enhancing the efficiency, production scale, and economics of oxygen blown multi-stage reforming processes.

The focus of this review is a methanol production process under development by Toyo Engineering Corporation (TEC) which appears to be ready for commercialization. This technology is based on their proprietary heat exchange reformer for synthesis gas (syngas) production as well as their innovative radial flow methanol converter. The process is claimed to be capable of methanol production capacities as high as 10,000 t/d. Also claimed is a significant improvement in thermal efficiency compared with conventional methanol production processes.