The application of zero-carbon methanol will change the new energy pattern.
Recently, the 19th Asian Games was held in Hangzhou. Zero-carbon methanol, the fuel for lighting the main torch of the opening ceremony, attracted much attention. This is the first practical application of zero-carbon methanol in the world. As a fuel, methanol has the characteristics of sustainability and cleanliness, but its production process has the disadvantages of high energy consumption and high emission, which has hindered the development of methanol fuel in China. The application of zero-carbon methanol technology will change this situation, and methanol fuel is on the rise.
1. China is the largest producer and consumer of methanol in the world.
Methanol, also known as hydroxymethyl methane, lignan or lignan, is an organic compound and a saturated monohydric alcohol with the simplest structure. Its chemical formula is CH3OH/CH4O, its molecular weight is 32.04 and its boiling point is 64.7℃.
At present, the application of methanol is very extensive, and it can be used for organic synthesis at first. Methanol is the raw material of many organic compounds, which can be used to make fine chemical products such as medicine, dyes, coatings and plastics. For example, methanol can be used to produce formaldehyde (formalin), vinyl acetate (glacial acetic acid) and polyacrylonitrile.
Methanol can also be used as analytical reagent, for example, ethyl acetate can be prepared by using methanol as catalyst.
Methanol can also be used in the fuel industry. Methanol can be used to make fuels, such as dimethyl ether, methyl tert-butyl ether and other solvent oils. And methanol is also used as automobile fuel to improve the thermal efficiency and power performance of the engine.
In addition, methanol is also used in agriculture and textile industry as fertilizer and printing and dyeing auxiliary respectively.
At present, methanol production methods in China are mainly coal mono-alcohol, coke oven gas to methanol, natural gas to methanol and coal methanol. amongCoal monol is the most important production method, accounting for about 67% of China’s total production capacity.
At present, China is the largest producer and consumer of methanol in the world.According to statistics of Jinlianchuang, by mid-November, 2022, the total annual production capacity of China’s methanol industry was 101.305 million tons, accounting for 58% of the global production capacity, which was still subject to the epidemic situation and the global environmental impact, and the annual growth rate slowed down (about 1%). It is worth mentioning that in 2020, China’s methanol production capacity will account for about 67% of the world.
2. Development course of methanol fuel in China
The development of methanol fuel in China can be traced back to the 1920s.At that time, methanol gasoline began to be used as vehicle fuel and appeared in people’s field of vision However, until the 1970s, due to the impact of the oil crisis, many countries were actively seeking alternative energy sources.As a liquefied fuel, methanol fuel has attracted much attention, because it is similar to traditional gasoline in storage, transportation, distribution and use, and has abundant raw materials and high combustion efficiency.
In this context, the United States, Germany and Sweden have successively invested human and material resources in the research and development of methanol gasoline vehicle technology. In the 1970s, China also began to develop and pilot methanol fuel. In 1975, Sweden proposed that methanol could be used as an alternative fuel for automobiles and established a national methanol development company. The first international conference on alcohol fuel held in Sweden in 1976 promoted the development of alcohol fuel; In 1979, Germany formulated the research plan of alcohol fuel, organized six automobile factories and more than 1,000 alcohol-burning vehicles to put into operation, and established M15 gas stations in major cities in China, forming a national methanol gasoline supply network.
In the 21st century, the research and pilot work of methanol fuel in China has been gradually strengthened.In 2001, during the Tenth Five-Year Plan period, the Ministry of Science and Technology organized the test, assessment and improvement of M15 methanol vehicles in order to better promote the application of methanol vehicles. In 2003, after the expiration of the Tenth Five-Year Plan, the test and assessment of M15 methanol vehicle was completed and achieved phased results.
Since then, China’s research and pilot work on methanol fuel has continued.In 2012, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Science and Technology jointly launched a five-year pilot project for methanol vehicles in 10 cities in five provinces and cities.The cumulative mileage of 1024 methanol vehicles participating in the pilot project has exceeded 184 million kilometers, and the pilot work has achieved phased results.
In December 2019, the non-fossil energy industry promotion plan issued by the National Development and Reform Commission clearly stipulated that methanol fuel should be included in the index management scope of non-fossil energy.
The "14th Five-Year Plan" proposes to achieve the strategic goal of "more rational allocation of energy resources and greatly improved utilization efficiency".Methanol is an important basic chemical raw material, and it is also recognized as a clean energy that can be applied in large scale in liquid fuels. Establishing the energy status of methanol fuel and developing methanol economy are in line with the national energy strategy, which is conducive to promoting the realization of China’s promised vision of striving to achieve the peak of carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.
At present, methanol fuel in China is mainly used in the field of transportation and thermal fuel.There are in the field of transportation.Methanol gasoline, methanol automobile and marine fuelWait. In addition, it has been widely used in the field of thermal combustion, including industrial boilers, kilns, civil heating and cooking stoves.
3. The development of methanol fuel in China has not been smooth sailing
Although China’s methanol fuel layout is earlier and enjoys the phased support of the policy, it isDue to technical problems and environmental protection problems, the growth rate of methanol fuel market in China is still small, and there have been some product policy mediation in stages.For example, in 2012, the website of the National Development and Reform Commission published "Natural Gas Utilization Policy", which pointed out that new or expanded facilities for producing methanol with natural gas as raw materials and downstream products of methanol production were listed as prohibited. And in recent years, methanol gasoline has been stopped and so on.
3.1 Energy structure restriction
China’s energy structure is rich in coal, poor in gas and poor in oil.China’s methanol production mainly comes from coal, while most overseas production mainly comes from natural gas, accounting for about 92%.This phenomenon is inseparable from China’s energy structure.Under this energy structure, the cost of producing methanol from coal will be lower than that from coke oven gas and natural gas. This result will lead to a relatively clean emission of methanol fuel, but a relatively large pollution in the process of methanol production.This is extremely inconsistent with the development concept of China’s energy strategy.
In recent years, under the policy of "double control", methanolNew capacity, especially coal to methanol.be subjected toThe central and local strict restrictions.,This directly affects the development scale of methanol fuel.It can be seen that the only way to achieve healthy and long-term development is to achieve low emissions of methanol fuel upstream and downstream.
3.2 There are great differences in domestic regional development.
China’s methanol production capacity is mainly concentrated in the northwest region.According to BOC data, in 2022, the methanol production capacity in northwest China will account for 60% of the total domestic methanol production capacity. East China, North China and Central China account for 16%, 8% and 5% respectively, while Northeast China only accounts for 1%.This is mainly because the production cost and storage cost of methanol are high, and China mainly produces methanol from coal, which leads to the concentration of methanol production capacity in the accessories of raw materials producing areas, resulting in regional disparities.
3.3 Methanol vehicles are difficult to popularize.
Regional development differences limit related supporting facilities and enterprise research and development.It was mentioned earlier that the distribution of methanol production capacity has a strong correlation with the regional distribution of coal in China, and the overlapping cost problem leads to the development of regional differences, resulting in insufficient supporting infrastructure. Today, methanol trucks are basically a regional vehicle, and mileage worries exist to varying degrees. And it also leads to only the car companies in relevant regions to carry out enterprise R&D, such as Geely, China Heavy Duty Truck and Shaanxi Automobile Group.
The production cost and production pollution are large.This is also the fundamental problem at present, which runs counter to the development of China’s energy strategy.
The driving force of methanol gasoline is slightly insufficient.At present, the fuel used in methanol vehicles in China is basically a mixed solution of 85% methanol and 15% gasoline. Due to technical problems, the overall driving force of oil trucks and trams is slightly insufficient.
4. The application of zero-carbon methanol will improve the status of methanol fuel and change the new energy pattern.
The zero-carbon methanol used in the torch of this Asian Games is the first application in the world, and it has achieved ultra-low emissions from production to combustion, meeting the development needs of carbon neutrality in China. Yang Xueliang, senior vice president of Geely Holding Group, a supplier of zero-carbon methanol technology, said,Through technical iteration, we can capture carbon dioxide in the air, electrolyze water with filtered electricity to generate hydrogen, and then synthesize zero-carbon methanol from carbon dioxide and hydrogen. It is reported that every ton of methanol produced can consume 1.375 tons of carbon dioxide in the air, thus realizing this carbon-neutral solution.
If zero-carbon methanol technology is further developed and widely used, methanol fuel will usher in the development of the times.According to the statistics of observation network, if half of freight trucks in China use methanol instead of gasoline and diesel, it will not only greatly reduce pollution, but also reduce oil imports by 125 million tons and carbon by 215 million tons every year.. If zero-carbon methanol is used in various fields of transportation, the pattern of energy shortage will be completely changed.
Zero-carbon methanol may change the existing new energy market structure.At present, China’s new energy generation photovoltaic accounts for a relatively large proportion, and new energy vehicles are mainly electric vehicles. The application of zero-carbon methanol technology is expected to occupy the market share of new energy sources, and its low emission, cleanness and sustainability of application may push methanol fuel to a new height. From the point of view of thermal fuel and methanol vehicles, if zero-carbon methanol can be widely used, it will be a blue ocean, and its development prospect is immeasurable, which will write a new energy pattern.However, it is still necessary to solve how to balance regional development and realize the downstream application from production at a lower cost.
5. Distribution of methanol in Geely Group
Geely Group is a supplier of zero-carbon methanol technology. In addition to the torch, the main torch methanol support vehicle for this Asian Games is also a highlight. It is reported that the support vehicle also uses the same methanol as the main torch fuel, realizing the closed loop of methanol energy preparation, methanol energy transmission and distribution system and methanol vehicle application. It can be seen that Geely Group has a wide distribution in the field of methanol, from the research and development and production of methanol vehicles to the production and filling of methanol fuel, forming a complete methanol energy industry chain.
Geely Automobile has been researching and developing methanol technology for 18 years, and has overcome many key technologies, such as cold start at low temperature, development of methanol-resistant materials, development of special lubricating oil, development of special additives, emission control and methanol EFI control system, and mastered a new technology (zero-carbon methanol) of "making methanol by capturing CO2 cycle".
According to the observation network, as the methanol support vehicle for the main torch tower of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, the long-distance Xinghan heavy truck is powered by alcohol and hydrogen and uses methanol as fuel. Compared with the traditional diesel heavy truck, it not only greatly reduces the carbon dioxide emission in the whole life cycle, but also reduces the fuel cost by 18%-32%, saving 1 yuan money at most per kilometer and greatly reducing the logistics cost.
In addition, Geely has carried out methanol vehicle test and operation projects in Denmark, Iceland and other Nordic countries as its global strategic layout.
6. Industrial Green Development Plan in the Tenth Five-Year PlanPromote the development of green methanol
Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology included "promoting the promotion of alternative fuel vehicles such as methanol vehicles" in the "14th Five-Year Plan for Industrial Green Development" and "coupling carbon dioxide to methanol" in the "green low-carbon technology promotion and application project". It also mentions vigorously developing and popularizing new energy vehicles, promoting the popularization of alternative fuel vehicles such as methanol vehicles, and promoting the popularization and application of technologies such as carbon dioxide coupling methanol production.
(This article first appeared in Titanium Media APP, author | Gu Shuo)
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