Beyond Oil and Gas: The Methanol Economy

Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Preface
About the Authors
Acronyms
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Coal in the Industrial Revolution and Beyond
Chapter 3 History of Petroleum Oil and Natural Gas
	3.1 Oil Extraction and Exploration
	3.2 Natural Gas
Chapter 4 Fossil‐Fuel Resources and Their Use
	4.1 Coal
	4.2 Petroleum Oil
	4.3 Unconventional Oil Sources
	4.4 Tar Sands
	4.5 Oil Shale
	4.6 Light Tight Oil
	4.7 Natural Gas
	4.8 Coalbed Methane
	4.9 Tight Sands and Shales
	4.10 Methane Hydrates
	4.11 Outlook
Chapter 5 Oil and Natural Gas Reserves and Their Limits
Chapter 6 The Continuing Need for Hydrocarbon Fuels and Products
	6.1 Fractional Distillation of Oil
	6.2 Thermal Cracking and Other Downstream Processes
	6.3 Petroleum Products
Chapter 7 Fossil Fuels and Climate Change
	7.1 Mitigation
Chapter 8 Renewable Energy Sources and Atomic Energy
	8.1 Hydropower
	8.2 Geothermal Energy
	8.3 Wind Energy
	8.4 Solar Energy: Photovoltaic and Thermal
		8.4.1 Electricity from Photovoltaic Conversion
		8.4.2 Solar Thermal Power for Electricity Production
		8.4.3 Electric Power from Saline Solar Ponds
		8.4.4 Solar Thermal Energy for Heating
		8.4.5 Economics of Solar Energy
	8.5 Bioenergy
		8.5.1 Electricity from Biomass
		8.5.2 Liquid Biofuels
			8.5.2.1 Biomethanol
		8.5.3 Advantages and Limitation of Biofuels
	8.6 Ocean Energy: Thermal, Tidal, and Wave Power
		8.6.1 Tidal Energy
		8.6.2 Wave Power
		8.6.3 Ocean Thermal Energy
	8.7 Nuclear Energy
		8.7.1 Energy from Nuclear Fission Reactions
		8.7.2 Breeder Reactors
		8.7.3 The Need for Nuclear Power
		8.7.4 Economics
		8.7.5 Safety
		8.7.6 Radiation Hazards
		8.7.7 Nuclear By‐products, Waste, and Their Management
		8.7.8 Emissions
		8.7.9 Nuclear Fusion
		8.7.10 Nuclear Power: An Energy Source for the Future
	8.8 Future Outlook
Chapter 9 The Hydrogen Economy and Its Limitations
	9.1 Hydrogen and Its Properties
	9.2 The Development of Hydrogen Energy
	9.3 Production and Uses of Hydrogen
		9.3.1 Hydrogen from Fossil Fuels
		9.3.2 Hydrogen from Biomass
		9.3.3 Photobiological Water Cleavage and Fermentation
		9.3.4 Water Electrolysis
			9.3.4.1 Electrolyzer Types
			9.3.4.2 Electricity Source
		9.3.5 Hydrogen Production Using Nuclear Energy
	9.4 The Challenge of Hydrogen Storage
		9.4.1 Liquid Hydrogen
		9.4.2 Compressed Hydrogen
		9.4.3 Metal Hydrides and Solid Adsorbents
		9.4.4 Chemical Hydrogen Storage
	9.5 Centralized or Decentralized Distribution of Hydrogen?
	9.6 Hydrogen Safety
	9.7 Hydrogen as a Transportation Fuel
	9.8 Fuel Cells
		9.8.1 History
		9.8.2 Fuel Cell Efficiency
		9.8.3 Hydrogen‐based Fuel Cells
		9.8.4 PEM Fuel Cells for Transportation
		9.8.5 Regenerative Fuel Cells
	9.9 Outlook
Chapter 10 The “Methanol Economy”: General Aspects
Chapter 11 Methanol and Dimethyl Ether as Fuels and Energy Carriers
	11.1 Background and Properties of Methanol
		11.1.1 Methanol in Nature
		11.1.2 Methanol in Space
	11.2 Chemical Uses of Methanol
	11.3 Methanol as a Transportation Fuel
		11.3.1 Development of Alcohols as Transportation Fuels
		11.3.2 Methanol as a Fuel in Spark Ignition (SI) Engines
		11.3.3 Methanol as a Fuel in Compression Ignition (Diesel) Engines and Methanol Engines
	11.4 Dimethyl Ether as a Transportation Fuel
	11.5 Biodiesel Fuel
	11.6 Advanced Methanol‐powered Vehicles
		11.6.1 Hydrogen for Fuel Cells Based on Methanol Reforming
	11.7 Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC)
	11.8 Fuel Cells Based on Other Methanol‐derived Fuels and Biofuel Cells
		11.8.1 Regenerative Fuel Cell
	11.9 Methanol and DME as Marine Fuels
	11.10 Methanol for Locomotives and Heavy Equipment
	11.11 Methanol as an Aviation Fuel
	11.12 Methanol for Static Power, Heat Generation, and Cooking
	11.13 DME for Electricity Generation and as a Household Gas
	11.14 Methanol and DME Storage and Distribution
	11.15 Price of Methanol and DME
	11.16 Safety of Methanol and DME
	11.17 Emissions from Methanol‐ and DME‐powered Vehicles and Other Sources
	11.18 Environmental Effects of Methanol and DME
	11.19 The Beneficial Effect of Chemical CO2 Recycling to Methanol on Climate Change
Chapter 12 Production of Methanol from Still Available Fossil‐Fuel Resources
	12.1 Methanol from Fossil Fuels
		12.1.1 Production via Syngas
		12.1.2 Syngas from Coal
		12.1.3 Syngas from Natural Gas
			12.1.3.1 Steam Reforming of Methane
			12.1.3.2 Partial Oxidation of Methane
			12.1.3.3 Autothermal Reforming and Combination of Steam Reforming with Partial Oxidation
			12.1.3.4 Syngas from CO2 Reforming of Methane
		12.1.4 Syngas from Petroleum Oil and Higher Hydrocarbons
		12.1.5 Economics of Syngas Generation
		12.1.6 Alternative Syngas Generation Methods
			12.1.6.1 Tri‐reforming of Natural Gas
			12.1.6.2 Bi‐reforming of Methane for Methanol Production
			12.1.6.3 Oxidative Bi‐reforming of Methane for Methanol Production: Methane Oxygenation
		12.1.7 Other High‐Temperature Processes Based on Methane to Convert Carbon Dioxide to Methanol
			12.1.7.1 Carnol Process
			12.1.7.2 Combination of Methane Decomposition with Dry Reforming or Steam Reforming
			12.1.7.3 Addition of CO2 to Syngas from Methane Steam Reforming
		12.1.8 Coal to Methanol Without CO2 Emissions
		12.1.9 Methanol from Syngas Through Methyl Formate
		12.1.10 Methanol from Methane Without Producing Syngas
			12.1.10.1 Direct Oxidation of Methane to Methanol
			12.1.10.2 Catalytic Gas‐Phase Oxidation of Methane
			12.1.10.3 Liquid‐Phase Oxidation of Methane to Methanol
			12.1.10.4 Methane to Methanol Conversion Through Monohalogenated Methanes
		12.1.11 Microbial or Photochemical Conversion of Methane to Methanol
	12.2 Dimethyl Ether Production from Syngas or Carbon Dioxide Using Fossil Fuels
Chapter 13 Production of Renewable Methanol and DME from Biomass and Through Carbon Capture and Recycling
	13.1 Biomass‐ and Waste‐Based Methanol and DME – Biomethanol and Bio‐DME
		13.1.1 Gasification
			13.1.1.1 Sources of Heat for the Gasification
		13.1.2 Biocrude
		13.1.3 Combination of Biomass and Coal
		13.1.4 Excess CO2 in the Gas Mixture Derived from Biomass
		13.1.5 Methanol from Biogas
		13.1.6 Limitations of Biomass
		13.1.7 Aquaculture
			13.1.7.1 Water Plants
			13.1.7.2 Algae
	13.2 Chemical Recycling of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol
	13.3 Heterogeneous Catalysts for the Production of Methanol from CO2 and H2
	13.4 Production of DME from CO2 Hydrogenation over Heterogeneous Catalysts
	13.5 Reduction of CO2 to Methanol with Homogeneous Catalysts
	13.6 Practical Applications of CO2 to Methanol
	13.7 Alternative Two‐Step Route for CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol
	13.8 Where Should the Needed Hydrogen Come From?
	13.9 CO2 Reduction to CO Followed by Hydrogenation
	13.10 Electrochemical Reduction of CO2
		13.10.1 Direct Electrochemical CO2 Reduction to Methanol
		13.10.2 Methods for High‐Rate Electrochemical CO2 Reduction
		13.10.3 Syngas (Metgas) Production from Formic Acid Synthesized by Electrochemical Reduction of CO2
	13.11 Thermochemical and Photochemical Routes to Methanol
		13.11.1 Solar‐Driven Thermochemical Conversion of CO2 to CO for Methanol Synthesis
		13.11.2 Direct Photochemical Reduction of CO2 to Methanol
	13.12 Sources of CO2
		13.12.1 Separating Carbon Dioxide from Industrial and Natural Sources for Chemical Recycling
		13.12.2 CO2 Capture from Seawater
		13.12.3 CO2 Capture from the Air
	13.13 Atmospheric CO2 to Methanol
	13.14 Cost of Producing Methanol from CO2 and Biomass
	13.15 Advantages of Producing Methanol from CO2 and H2
	13.16 Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions
	13.17 Anthropogenic Carbon Cycle
Chapter 14 Methanol‐Based Chemicals, Synthetic Hydrocarbons, and Materials
	14.1 Methanol‐Based Chemical Products and Materials
	14.2 Methyl‐tert‐butyl Ether and DME
	14.3 Methanol Conversion to Light Olefins and Synthetic Hydrocarbons
	14.4 Methanol to Olefin (MTO) Processes
	14.5 Methanol to Gasoline (MTG) Processes
	14.6 Methanol‐Based Proteins
	14.7 Plant Growth Promotion
	14.8 Outlook
Chapter 15 Conclusion and Outlook
	15.1 Where Do We Stand?
	15.2 The “Methanol Economy”: Progress and Solutions for the Future
Further Reading and Information
References
Index
EULA