Book Description

This report presents a cost analysis of large-scale Methanol production from natural gas. The process examined employs combined reforming for syngas generation similarly to the technologies developed by the following companies: Lurgi, Toyo, KBR, Johnson Matthey/Davy and Haldor-Topsoe. In this process, natural gas is converted into syngas in two steps: steam reforming and autothermal reforming. In the steam reformer, the natural gas reacts with steam and, in the secondary (autothermal) reformer, it reacts with oxygen. The syngas generated is then converted to Methanol. This report examines one-time costs associated with the construction of a United States-based plant and the continuing costs associated with the daily operation of such a plant. More specifically, it discusses: * Capital Investment, broken down by: - Total fixed capital required, divided in production unit (ISBL); infrastructure (OSBL) and contingency - Alternative perspective on the total fixed capital, divided in direct costs, indirect costs and contingency - Working capital and costs incurred during industrial plant commissioning and start-up * Production cost, broken down by: - Manufacturing variable costs (raw materials, utilities) - Manufacturing fixed costs (maintenance costs, operating charges, plant overhead, local taxes and insurance) - Depreciation and corporate overhead costs * Raw materials consumption, products generation and labor requirements * Process block flow diagram and description of industrial site installations (production unit and infrastructure) This report was developed based essentially on the following reference(s): (1) US Patent 8629190, issued to Lurgi in 2014; (2) US Patent 8388864, issued to Lurgi in 2013 Keywords: Synthesis Gas, Lurgi MegaMethanol, Johnson Matthey, JM Davy Technologies, Toyo, Kellogg Brown and Root, KBR, Johnson Matthey/Davy, Haldor-Topsoe