About Green Methanol ( UPSC)

Description

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Context: State-owned power generation company NTPC has recently partnered with Tecnimont to explore green methanol production at a commercial scale.

Details:

The green methanol project involves capturing carbon from NTPC power plants and converting it into a green fuel.
The objective of the partnership was to demonstrate technologies for firing a higher percentage of Torrefied Biomass in NTPC’s coal fired units, Methanol Firing and Ammonia Firing.
Green methanol is methanol that is produced renewably and without polluting emissions, one of its variants being generated from green hydrogen.
It is a low-carbon fuel that can be made from either biomass gasification or renewable electricity and captured carbon dioxide (CO2).
This chemical compound can be used as a low-carbon liquid fuel and is a promising alternative to fossil fuels in areas where decarbonisation is a major challenge, such as maritime transport.
Grey methanol is obtained by synthesis reaction from methane present in natural gas (or in some cases, as in China, still from coal). It is therefore not a renewable or clean energy.
Blue methanol is also obtained by synthesis derived from natural gas, but includes as part of the process the capture and storage of the carbon generated during its production, converting it into a less polluting product.

Background:

Methanol is a low carbon, hydrogen carrier fuel produced from high ash coal, agricultural residue, CO2 from thermal power plants and natural gas. It is the best pathway for meeting India’s commitment to COP 21.
NITI Aayog's 'Methanol Economy' programme is aimed at reducing India's oil import bill, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and converting coal reserves and municipal solid waste into methanol.
Although slightly lower in energy content than petrol and diesel, methanol can replace both these fuels in the transport sector (road, rail and marine), energy sector (comprising DG sets, boilers, process heating modules, tractors and commercial vehicles) and retail cooking (replacing LPG [partially], kerosene and wood charcoal).
Blending of 15% methanol in gasoline can result in at least 15% reduction in the import of gasoline/crude oil. In addition, this would bring down GHG emissions by 20% in terms of particulate matter, NOx, and SOx, thereby improving the urban air quality.
Methanol Economy will also create close to 5 million jobs through methanol production/application and distribution services.
Additionally, Rs 6000 crore can be saved annually by blending 20% DME (Di-methyl Ether, a derivative of methanol) in LPG. This will help the consumer in saving between Rs 50-100 per cylinder.
The Bureau of Indian Standards has notified 20% DME blending with LPG, and a notification for M-15, M-85, M-100 blends has been issued by the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways.
On 5 October 2018, Assam Petrochemicals launched Asia’s first canister-based methanol cooking fuel programme. This initiative is an extension of our Hon’ble Prime Minister's vision of reducing the import of crude oil and striving towards the provision of a clean, cost-effective and pollution-free cooking medium. Methanol stoves can result in at least 20% savings for households.
After the success of the pilot, the methanol cooking programme was scaled up to 1,00,000 households in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Manipur.
Five methanol plants based on high ash coal, five DME plants, and one natural gas-based methanol production plant with a capacity of 20 MMT/annum, in a joint venture with Israel, have been planned to be set up.
An R&D project has also been sanctioned by the Department of Biotechnology to IISc Bengaluru and Praj Industries Pune for the production of methanol from biomass. Phase-I of the production of syngas from biomass was demonstrated in January 2019.