Enhanced production of methanol from switchgrass: CO2 to methanol

In this work an integrated facility that produces methanol from switchgrass and reuses the captured CO2 to enhance its production capacity by 50% is proposed. The process consists of two sections: biomass processing to syngas and its conversion to methanol, and the hydrolytic section where hydrogen is produced to hydrogenate the CO2 that has been captured during syngas cleaning. The integrated facility reaches 207 Mgal/yr of methanol production, 318 kt/yr of oxygen but requires a large amount of electricity to generate the hydrogen. As a result, it can only be used in regions where wind velocity is above 8 m/s and solar radiation is above 5 kWh/m(2)/day such as Midwest US, certain regions in China or the South of Europe. The investment is high, around 1000 M(sic), allocation dependent, but the production cost of methanol is promising 0.25-0.35 (sic)/kg showing a high production capacity.