It all started more than 85 years ago, when thyssenkrupp built its first methanol plant. Since then, a vast number of new developments and improvements have been made.
Nevertheless, many years ago, thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions withdrew from this part of the plant construction business in order to concentrate on its core business. The changing market situation on the one hand, and the call for ever larger and more efficient facilities on the other hand led to the steady expansion of the technology portfolio within thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions and, as a consequence, to re-evaluate its own position on methanol technology. It quickly became clear that the state-of-the-art plant capacities and plant efficiencies realized in recent years were stagnant and not focused on the future.
A quantum leap was needed. It had to be big and innovative enough to generate significant, economic value for future customers. However, it was not allowed to turn out to be so powerful that it would be perceived as a first-of-its-kind. Ultimately, it was also about to win the financial world for the new, trend-setting technology approach.
thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions’ AdWinMethanol® Technology is as of to date the most advanced methanol technology available on the market. It is based on conventional technologies, proven state of the art items and equipment, but modified to satisfy today’s needs of lowest CAPEX, lowest OPEX, highest efficiency and availability. Due to the superior new process design significant benefits could be achieved compared to state of the art technology.
Main advantages of AdWinMethanol® technology for the owner/operator:
No steam reformer and small ATR due to high pressure
Significantly smaller and simpler compressor
Simplified design (state of the art isothermal reactor for both stages)
Higher COx conversion, low recycle flow rate, small catalyst volume
Smaller recycle compressor
Less EPC cost by up to 10%
Reduced natural gas consumption by up to 3%
Syngas Production: The methanol plant consists of three sections
Natural gas or any other methane-rich gas can be used as feed stock for the methanol production. In the first steps catalyst poisons like sulfur are to be removed from the gas. In the pre-reformer long-chain hydrocarbons are converted to avoid soot formation downstream of the pre-reformer. The actual conversion of methane and the hydrocarbons of the feed gas with steam into hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide take place in the ATR. This reaction product is usually called syngas. In the following equations the main reforming reactions are summarized:
Methane reforming: CH_4+ H_2 O ⇋ CO + 3 H_2
Hydrocarbon reforming: C_n H_m+ n H_2 O ⇋ n CO + 1⁄2⋅ (2n + m) H_2
Water gas shift reaction: CO + H_2 O ⇋ H_2 + CO_2
The reforming takes place at elevated pressure of up to 60 bar, which reduces the volume flow rates, the diameters of the pipelines and the volume of the respective equipment in comparison to conventional processes operating below 40 bar.
Methanol is produced in a two-stage reactor system equipped in both stages with multi tube water cooled reactors operated isothermally. For a capacity of 5,000 mtpd methanol, three equal sized reactors are used, two in the first stage and one in the second. In contrary to conventional technologies crude methanol is not only separated after the second stage but also between the two reactor stages by intermediate condensation. In order to increase the ratio of hydrogen to carbon oxide, a partial flow is passed to a PSA after the intermediate condensation to produce a hydrogen-rich stream which is added to the syngas prior to the syngas compressor.
For the methanol synthesis a copper, zinc oxide and alumina based catalyst is used. Suitable catalysts are available from a number of catalyst suppliers. The conversion of CO and CO2 to methanol is favored at low temperatures and high pressures.
The major content of impurities in crude methanol is water, but there are also by-products, formed in the synthesis reactors, and dissolved gases. By-products are mainly light components as dimethylether, methyl-formiate and ketones and higher alcohols as ethanol, propanol and butanol. In order to produce Grade AA methanol three columns are required; pre-run column, HP methanol column and LP methanol column.
Process Flow Chart: AdWinMethanol®
