Liquid-Phase Methanol Process (LPMeOH) Jill DeTroye, Brandon Hurn, Kyle Ludwig, and Isaac Zaydens

Overview ●Introduction to LPMeOH ●Process ●LPMeOH Features ●Performance ●Commercial Applications ●Environment and Economic Analysis ●Conclusion and Recommendations Slurry Bubble Column Reactor installation Image adapted from Kirkland et al.

Introduction ●LPMEOH technology was first developed in the 1980’s in LaPorte Texas ●The DOE wanted to develop a more economic and efficient way to convert coal-derived synthesis gas into methanol ●Over 7,400 hours of test operation in a DOE-owned 10 tons-per- day Process Development Unit ●Eastman Chemical Company in Kingsport, Tennessee was the first commercial-scale plant for LPMEOH technology

Introduction ●Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. and Eastman Chemical Company partnered to form Air Products Liquid Phase Conversion Company, L.P. ●Together and with the DOE they participated in the Clean Coal Technology Program demonstration of LPMEOH technology. ●Purpose was to demonstrate the scale-up and operability of the LPMEOH process with different coal-based syngas feed compositions

Image adapted from Heydorn et al. Process ●Old system o Catalyst pellets o Gas phase ●LPMEOH o Powder catalyst slurried in an inert mineral oil ●High heat removal ●Higher Syngas conversion

LPMEOH Features ●Water gas shift reactor needed to adjust stoichiometry of feedstocks o 16% CO concentration ●Cannot endure sharp transient operations ●Produce crude methanol o 4%-20% water by weight ●Interrupted operation ●Syngas with large amounts of carbon oxides can be directly processed o Over 50% CO concentration ●Can handle sudden changes and idling ●Produce high quality methanol o 1% water by weight ●Remove and add catalyst slurry Conventional Methanol ProductionLPMEOH

LPMEOH PFD Image adapted from Kirkland et al.

Performance ●Produce 260 short tons/day or 80,000 gallons/day during the within 4 days o Exceed 115% within 6 days ●Catalyst deactivation rate o Campaign % per day o Campaign 2 to % to 0.7% per day o Campaign % per day o trace amounts of arsenic and sulfur were the main poisons ●Unit plant availability %

Commercial Applications ●Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) Coproduction o Converts coal-derived syngas from power plant to methanol o Flexibility in syngas composition o Continuous vs. off-peak power shaving Image adapted from Heydorn et al.

Commercial Applications Image adapted from Heydorn et al.

Commercial Applications ●Distributed Generation o No sulfur o Low NO x o Energy security ●Turbines ●Diesel engines ●Fuel cells ●Fuel alternative

Environmental Implications ●Project developed with alleviation of environmental impacts in mind ●Generally, coal-based or fossil fuel-based (particularly natural gas) methods used for methanol production o LPMEOH resulted in reduction of carbon emissions o Methanol produced for fuel purposes:  Free of sulfur  Contained <1 wt% water o When used as a fuel, showed significantly reduced NOx emissions with comparable performance ●Start-up process produced no noticeable environmental hazards ●Further improvements possible via “site-specific” design considerations o Proximity to waste disposal sites

Waste Production ●Demonstration unit showed no significant impact to local environment due to process activity ●June 30, 1995: a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) issued, indicating an environmentally-sound process ●Lower-than-expected production of waste products including: o Spent catalyst o Waste Oil o Recovered Distillate liquids o Waste Water ●All waste products easily handled and disposed of effectively.

Economic ●This method would not replace but instead couple with an existing methanol production method, Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) ●Potential to realize a 25% reduction in variable cost of production to as low as $.50 per gallon of methanol. ●Economic estimates predict a return on investment of roughly 15% ●This process will allow a clean, cost effective transformation of coal into a practical, environmentally-friendly chemical feedstock ●In any case, the co-production of methanol remains economically preferable to offshore natural gas processing

Conclusion and Recommendations ●LPMEOH Demonstration Project accomplished the objectives set out in the agreement between the DOE, Air Products, and Eastman Chemical Company ●Over million gallons of methanol was produced with one month reaching a maximum of 2.5 million gallons ●The addition of catalysts helped with commercial interest and significantly improved the LPMEOH process ●Developments in the processes for removing trace contaminants in coal- derived syngas will extend catalyst life and lead to lower methanol conversion costs ●Additional reductions in syngas costs from a modern coal gasification system will increase market opportunities for the LPMEOH process

References ● United States of America. Department of Energy. National Energy Technology Laboratory. Commercial-Scale Demonstration of the Liquid Phase Methanol Process. By Robert J. Kirkland, Edward Schmetz, and Robert M. Kornosky. Washington D.C.: n.p., Print. ● United States of America. Department of Energy. National Energy Technology Laboratory. Final Report for the Commercial-Scale Demonstration of the Liquid Phase Methanol Process. By E. C. Heydorn and R. D. Lilly. Washington D.C.: n.p., Print.