Gaurav Singh | MEL Candidate | Dec 16, 2022
Mentor: Christopher Norris, Siemens Energy
Abstract
This capstone project explores the role of Bio and E-methanol in enabling industries, provinces and countries to decarbonize and meet their carbon emission reduction targets. Methanol (CH3OH) is an indispensable component of contemporary living, and every day we interact with methanol-containing items in various shapes and forms. It is a key ingredient in producing hundreds of consumer and industrial products and a clean-burning fuel. Many industries seek methanol to meet their decarbonization and net-zero targets, mainly marine transportation. Based on the production method, methanol can be classified as Bio-methanol, E-methanol, Blue methanol, Grey methanol and Brown methanol. Due to the increasing focus on GHG emissions reduction, Bio and E-methanol have caught the attention of researchers and industries to meet the net-zero targets.
The study finds that the production cost of bio-methanol is currently lower than e-methanol; however, with the reduction in the cost of electrolyzers, renewable electricity and DAC, the costs of e-methanol are projected to decline significantly and be on par with bio-methanol.