Wind power to methanol: Renewable methanol production using electricity, electrolysis of water and CO2 air capture

Abstract

A 100 MW stand-alone wind power to methanol process has been evaluated to determine the capital requirement and power to methanol efficiency. Power available for electrolysis determines the amount of hydrogen produced. The stoichiometric amount of CO2 – required for the methanol synthesis – is produced using direct air capture. Integration of utilities for CO2 air capture, hydrogen production from co-harvested water and methanol synthesis is incorporated and capital costs for all process steps are estimated.Power to methanol efficiency is determined to be around 50%. The cost of methanol is around 300€ton−1 excluding and 800€ton−1 including wind turbine capital cost. Excluding 300 M€investment cost for 100 MW of wind turbines, total plant capital cost is around 200 M€. About 45% of the capital cost is reserved for the electrolysers, 50% for the CO2 air capture installation, and 5% for the methanol synthesis system. The conceptual design and evaluation shows that renewable methanol produced from air captured CO2, water and renewable electricity is becoming a realistic option at reasonable costs of 750–800 €ton−1.