Methanol is a versatile and highly sought-after chemical building block. It is used as a raw material for plastics, adhesives, antifreezes and fuels. But methanol is also a problem child: the vast majority is produced from fossil sources such as natural gas and coal, resulting in significant CO₂ emissions.
This can be done differently, TNO states in a recent article: biomethanol, made from low-grade residual flows, is technically and economically feasible. The route to large-scale, sustainable methanol production is open, provided that it is scaled up in time.
Roadside grass, manure and pruning wood as a source
The biomass that TNO is investigating is not of the highest quality. It concerns residual flows that are difficult to valorise, such as roadside grass, animal manure, pruning waste and other vegetable, fruit and garden waste. These flows in particular pose a challenge in the energy transition and the biobased economy: they are available in large volumes, but often have low economic value and high logistical or processing costs.
By converting these flows to biomethanol via gasification and synthesis, a new application with high added value is created. Methanol is widely used in industry and can play an important role as a maritime fuel. The market is therefore large, and the impact potentially considerable.
Gasification technology
TNO is investigating, together with the Norwegian energy company Equinor – the largest methanol producer in Europe – how biomass can play a role in making methanol production more sustainable. The central question is what role gasification technology can play in the use of low-grade biomass as a raw material. This technology, in which biomass is converted into synthesis gas at high temperatures, is promising but complex. This collaboration allows knowledge and practical experience from industry and research to be effectively linked.
“The wide availability and favorable price of woody waste streams such as bagasse make large-scale production of biomethanol attractive, leading to sustainable fuels, plastics, cosmetics and various market opportunities.”
Berend Vreugdenhil – Senior researcher sustainable fuels, TNO
Technological breakthrough: from lab to practice
TNO is working with various partners on the development of an integrated chain: from biomass selection, gasification and gas cleaning to methanol synthesis. The key lies in scalability and cost efficiency. According to TNO, the latest generation of installations shows that biomethanol can be produced profitably, even from residual flows that are difficult to process.
The research also looks at heat integration and the use of residual flows from the process itself. This contributes to a minimal environmental impact and is in line with the objectives of the circular economy.
Strategic advantage for the industry
For the chemical industry, biomethanol offers a direct route to greening without fundamental changes to existing processes. The shipping sector – looking for alternatives to heavy fuel oil – can also use biomethanol as a cleaner fuel, provided that infrastructure and regulations evolve accordingly.
The use of local residual flows also reduces dependence on fossil import flows and contributes to security of supply in a geopolitically unstable market.
From pilot to practice
Although the technology has proven itself on a pilot scale, scaling up is crucial. This requires investments in regional installations, logistics and sales markets. Policy plays a key role in this: think of blending obligations, subsidies and market access for biobased fuels.
According to TNO, there is a clear opportunity to structurally include biomethanol in the European energy and raw materials mix. The collaboration with Equinor shows that large industrial players are also taking the potential of bio-raw materials more seriously.
Source: TNO
Photo source Wikipedia
