Investigations on catalyzed steam gasification of biomass: feasibility study of methanol production via catalytic gasification of 200 tons of wood per day

Abstract

This report is a result of an additional study made of the economic feasibility of producing fuel grade methanol from wood via catalytic gasification with steam. The report has as its basis the original 2000 tons of wood per day study generated from process development unit testing performed by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL). The goal of this additional work was to determine the feasibility of a smaller scale plant one tenth the size of the original or 200 tons of dry wood feed per day. Plant production based on this wood feed is 100 tons per day of methanol with a HHV of 9784 Btu per pound. All process and support facilities necessary to convert wood to methanol are included in this study. The plant location is Newport, Oregon. The capital cost for the plant is $34,830,000 - September 1980 basis. Methanol production costs which allow for return on capital have been calculated for various wood prices for both utility and private investor financing. These wood costs include delivery to the plant. For utility financing, the methanol production costs are, respectively, $1.20, $1.23, $1.30, and $1.44 per gallon for wood costs of $5, $10, $20, and $40 per dry ton. For private investor financing, the corresponding product costs are $1.60, $1.63, $1.70, and $1.84 per gallon for the corresponding wood costs. The costs calculated by the utility financing method include a return on equity of 15% and an interest rate of 10% on the debt. The private investor financing method, which is 100% equity financing, incorporates a discounted cash flow (DCF) return on equity of 12%. The thermal efficiency of the plant is 52.0%.