Methanol Economy from introduction, advantages and disadvantages over hydrogen economy, world scenario, uses

1. Methanol Economy
Presented by
Ankita Gawas (16GRT2001) Rakhi Vishwakarma (16GRT2009)
Ketaki Sarnaik (16GRT2004) Mohini Pardeshi (16GRT2007)
Shreya Athalye( 16GRT2014) Vaibhavi Patil (16GRT2018)

2. Search
for
alternati
ve fuel
Peak oil is
near
Dependenc
e on fossil
fuels
Volatile oil
market
Reduce
green house
emissions

4. METHANOL
ECONOMY
Enhances
urban
quality of
air
Higher
flame
speed
High latent
heat of
vapourisation
Cleaner
emissions
Effectively cools
down the engine
HYDROGEN
ECONOMY
Handling
is difficult
as it is
volatile
Storage
is
explosive
Difficult
to
liquefy
Uneconomical

5. METHANOL
• It is also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood
spirits
• It has chemical formula CH3OH (often abbreviated as MeOH)
• It is a light, volatile, colourless, flammable, liquid with a distinctive
odour.
• At room temperature it is a polar liquid.
• It forms explosive mixtures with air and burns with a nonluminous
flame.
2 CH3OH + 3 O2→ 2 CO2 + 4 H2O
• Boiling point : 64.96° C (148.93° F)
• Freezing point : -93.9°C (-137°F)
• Relative Density : 0.8

6. • Methanol is also a toxin and should not be ingested.
• Drinking quantities of methanol can result in blindness and severe
damage to the central nervous system.

7. Property Gasoline Diesel Ethanol Propane CNG Hydrogen Biodiesel (B100) Methanol
Chemical formula C4 to C12 C8 to C25 C2H5OH C3H8 CH4 (83-99%)
C2H6 (1-13%)
H2 C12 to C22 FAME CH3OH
Molecular weight 100-105 200 46.07 44.1 16.04 2.02 292 32.04
Composition (wt%)
Carbon 85-88 87 52.2 82 75 0 77 37.5
Hydrogen 12-15 13 13.1 18 25 100 12 12.6
Oxygen 0 0 34.7 - - 0 11 49.9
Specific gravity
@60˚F
0.72-0.78 0.85 0.794 0.508 0.424 0.07 0.88 0.796
Boiling point (˚F) 80-437 356-644 172 -44 -263.2 to -
126.4
-423 599-662 149
Freezing point (˚F) -40 -40 to
-30
-173.2 -305.8 -296 -435 26-66 -143.5
Flash point (˚F) -45 140-176 55 -156 -300 - 212-338 52
Autoignition
temperature (˚F)
495-536 600 793 876 1076 932 705-840 867

8. Property Gasoline Diesel Ethanol Propane CNG Hydrogen Biodiesel
(B100)
Methanol
Research Octane
Number
88-98 - 106.8 97 - - - 107
Motor Octane Number 80-88 - 89.7 112 - - - 92
Cetane Number - 40-55 0-54 - - - 48-65 -
Flammability limits
(vol%)
Lower 1.4 1.0 4.3 2.2 5.3 4.1 - 7.3
Upper 7.6 6.0 19 9.5 15 74 - 36
Heat of vaporization
(Btu/gal)
900 710 2378 775 1441 1353 - 3340
Specific Heat (Btu/lb˚F) 0.48 0.4 0.57 0.34 0.45 2.42 - 0.60

9. ADVANTAGES OF METHANOL
• Methanol is a liquid under normal conditions, allowing it to be stored, transported
and dispensed easily, like gasoline and diesel fuel.
• It can also be readily transformed by dehydration into dimethyl ether, a diesel
fuel substitute with a cetane number of 55.
• Methanol, being totally soluble in water, rapidly diluted to a concentration to
start biodegradation for microorganism.
• Methanol is used as raw material in chemical industry and denitrification in
water treatment plants.
• Switching fuels from gasoline to methanol would reduce the incidence of fuel
related fires by 90%.

10. 1. ADVANTAGES OVER ETHANOL
• The yield of Methanol generated from biomass is much greater than ethanol.
• Methanol made from organic materials using fishers tropsch method of synthesis gas
catalysis
• Methanol is used as mean energy storage , fuel and raw material. Methanol obtained
from fossil fuels has a lower price than ethanol.
• Methanol is blended with gasoline like ethanol. In 2007, China blended more than
1 billion US gallons (3,800,000 m3) of methanol into fuel . M85, a mixture of 85%
methanol and 15% gasoline as a fuel

11. 2. ADVANTAGES OVER HYDROGEN
METHANOL HYDROGEN
The volumetric energy density of
methanol is considerably
higher.(hydrogen content in methanol
(99 grams/litre)
The volumetric energy density of liq.
hydrogen is low.( 71 grams/litre)
Methanol use with gasoline
infrastructure with only limited
modifications , needs no cryogenic
container maintained -253 °C .
A liquid hydrogen infrastructure is
expensive, requires high pressure or
cryogenic system confinement
One m3 of methanol at ambient
pressure and temperature contains
1660 Nm3 (normal cubic metres) of
hydrogen gas
In liquid hydrogen ,one m3 of liquid
hydrogen at -253 °C contains only 788
Nm3 of hydrogen gas.

12. DISADVANTAGES
• High energy costs associated with generating hydrogen.
• Generation from syngas still dependent on fossil fuels
• Energy density (by w/v) is one half of that of gasoline and 24% less than
ethanol.
• Corrosive to some metals including aluminum, zinc and manganese.
• Pipelines designed for petroleum products cannot handle methanol. Thus
methanol requires shipment at higher energy cost in trucks and trains,
until a whole new pipeline infrastructure can be built

13. • Increases emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from fuel,
which contributes to increased tropospheric ozone and possibly human
exposure.
• Low volatility in cold weather: pure methanol-fueled engines can be
difficult to start(use: M85 ). The gasoline allows the engine to start even
at lower temperatures.
• Methanol is toxic. It is lethal when ingested in larger amounts (30 to 100
mL). It does not contain any carcinogens, but on metabolism in
formaldehyde, which is toxic and carcinogenic.
• Methanol creates a fire risk compared to hydrogen in open spaces. It is
much safer than ethanol. It is more difficult to ignite ,and releases less
heat when it burns. Its fires can be extinguished with plain water, whereas
gasoline floats on water and continues to burn

14. METHANOL PRODUCTION
• Methanol can be made up from natural gas, coal, biomass, oil shale, tar
sand, and it is also called as WOOD ALCOHOL.
• Methanol can be made from any resources that can be converted first into
synthesis gas.
• Syn gas can be produced through gasification of biomass, agricultural
waste, timber waste, solid municipal waste.
• In typical plant, methnol production can be carried out in two steps:
1. Catalytic reforming of feedstock to synthesis gas.
2. Catalytic synthesis of methanol from synthesis gas.

15. DIFFERENT WAYS OF
METHANOL PRODUCTION
Methanol via Syn gas:
 Syn gas to methanol
 Fossil fuel (Methane) to Syn gas :
• steam reforming(SR)
• oxy reforming(OR)
• CO2 reforming(CR)
1. Auto-thermal process: Endo. SR + Exo. OR
2. Bi-reforming: SR + CR
3. Tri-reforming: SR + OR + CR

16. Methanol without Syn gas:
• Direct oxidation of methane
• Catalytic gas-phase oxidation of methane
• Catalytic liq-phase oxidation of methane
• Methane into methanol through mono halogenated methane
• Methanol from methane by enzyme
Chemical recycling of CO2 to methanol:
• Methanol production using CO2 as a carbon source similar to the
methanol from syn gas process.
• CO2 capturing method

17. Uses
1. Direct Methanol Fuel Cell
• Anode – Methanol, Cathode – Oxygen, Catalyst – Platinum-rhuthenium.
• Due to catalyst anode is able to draw the hydrogen from liquid methanol.
Anode: CH3OH + H2O CO2 + 6H+ + 6e-
Cathode: 1.5O2 + 6H+ + 6e- 3H2O
Total: CH3OH + 1.5O2 CO2 + 2H2O
• DMFCs operate in the temperature range from 60ºC to 130ºC .
• Applications: It is used in mobile electronic devices or chargers and portable
power packs.

18. Fig: DMFC

19. 2. It is used in Internal Combustion Engines.
• High octane number.
• High flame speed than gasoline.
• Burns cleaner.
• Efficiency increase is possible upto 5 to 10 % relative to gasoline engine
efficiency.
3. In advanced methanol-powered vehicles.
4. For electricity production.
5. As a domestic fuel.

20. 6. Precursor
• To produce the polymers like (LDPE, HDPE, PP) we require olefins like
ethylene, propylene.
• To get the fuel for ignition we require gasoline.
• Methanol to gasoline(MTG), Methanol to olefins(MTO).
• Reduce our dependency on petroleum industry.
7. It is also used produce biodiesel via transesterification of vegetable oil.
8. It is also used on a large scale as a marine fuel.

21. WORLD SCENARIO

22. China
• The largest producer of methanol
(coal –to-methanol).
• A rapid expansion in consumption
and production in the last decade.
• The largest usage for methanol in
China is direct fuel burning.
• Needs more proactive national
methanol policy including
increased safety precautions and
a substantive plan for addressing
the increased CO2 emissions from
methanol production

23. US
• The potential of methanol as a liquid fuel to satisfy US transportation
demand was highlighted after the first oil crisis in 1973.
• The failure of methanol as a fuel in US may be attributed to the following
factors:
• i. Period in which the technology was introduced.
• ii. Due to other environment friendly fuels.

24. EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
• In Europe, implementation of methanol fuels has been limited to light
blends.
• France was one of the countries that allowed the use of the higher
methanol blends for a few refueling stations.
• In Sweden there was an oxygenate requirement that specified a maximum
blending of methanol of 2 %.

25. INDIA
• India is in the cusp of a gigantic transformation towards a developed
nation.
• ‘The Methanol Economy’ promises to help India to mitigate its petroleum
import costs and at the same time counter problem associated with global
warming due to excess CO2 emissions.
• Abundant coal reserves and non-edible biomass.
• NITI Aayog - A roadmap for Methanol economy.

26. References
• Efficient and Selective conversion of carbon dioxide to methanol, Dimethyl ether
and derived products, George A. Olah, Surya Prakash, US 2006/0235091 A1.
• Hydrogen economy vs. Methanol economy, Int. J. Chem. Sci, 12 (4), 2014, 1478-
1486.
• Methanol for renewable energy storage and utilization, Konstantin R.uchle, Ludolf
Plass, Hans-Jîrgen Wernicke, Martin Bertau, Energy Technol. 2016, 4, 193 – 200.
• After oil and gas: Methanol economy, George A. Olah, Catalysis letters Vol. 93,
Nos. 1-2, March 2004.
• http://algaeenergy.weebly.com/
• http://www.methanol.org/
• http://www.ucc.ie/academic/

27. • A Methanol Economy , Alyssa Noll , Stanford university , Dec 6 ,2015.
• http://www.chemeurope.com/
• Beyond Oil and Gas: The Methanol Economy, George A. Olah, Alain
Goeppert, G.K. Surya Prakash, Takuya Matsumoto(B4), 2010.12.15
• http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/