What’s So Special About Green Methanol?

Green methanol is produced from biomass or electrolysis with low carbon emissions.
It also has the potential to replace conventional fuels in transportation and industrial applications effectively.
High production costs and efficiency challenges limit its current global market share.

October 01, 2024 | Chemicals

Methanol is an organic chemical compound that is widely produced globally — almost reaching 110 million metric tons as of 2023. Currently, methanol has become popular as a clean energy source. However, not all types of methanol are sustainable — only two have the potential to replace polluting fossil fuels.

In general, there are four types of methanol based on how they are produced.

Brown methanol:

Produced from coal with high carbon emissions. This methanol has a relatively small market share because of low efficiency.

Grey methanol:

Made from natural gas, this methanol also as it still pollutes the environment. However, it has the highest market share because of established infrastructure, feedstock availability, and low production cost .

Blue methanol:

This methanol is produced using blue hydrogen combined with carbon capture technology. It’s an environment-friendly variant with low carbon emissions. Blue methanol is being used in petrochemicals and transportation industries.

Green Methanol:

This type is made from biomass (bio-methanol) or electrolysis (e-methanol). This methanol has neutral net emissions.

Considering their low carbon footprint from production to utilization, green and blue methanol are the only real alternatives to conventional fuels.

The Pros & Cons of Green Methanol

Green methanol has a lower environmental impact than the rest of the methanol types. But by how much?

According to the Methanol Institute, Green methanol can reduce carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur oxide emissions by 60-95%, 60-80%, and ~99% respectively. Green methanol can also be blended with conventional diesel fuels and gasoline allowing easier transition between fuels without needing to change or upgrade the existing vehicles or transportation equipment.

Furthermore, green methanol is a versatile product. It can not only improve transportation services but is also suitable to become a feedstock to produce other valuable materials and chemicals, including polymers, textiles, construction agents, pharmaceuticals as well as agrichemicals.

The downside is the high production cost due to the need for research and development (R&D) in advanced low-carbon technologies. This is why annual green methanol production accounts for just 1% of the total global methanol production.

Aside from that, green methanol also requires double the fuel tank size to produce the same output as conventional fuels.

Thus, even though green methanol provides environmental benefits, it also comes with a tradeoff. More efforts in R&D are needed to increase the efficiency of green methanol to completely replace conventional fuels.

Green Methanol Fueling Energy Options

Although green methanol is suitable for various industrial applications and derivatives, let’s look at how it can be a better alternative in the energy sector.

Green methanol is suitable for replacing automotive fuels. For instance, in China, Geely has been developing methanol-powered cars and commercialized them as city taxis. Today, China is leading the world in using methanol as fuel with over 7% of land vehicles in the country using methanol. Besides, methanol-blended gasoline is offered to passenger cars throughout the country.

Green methanol has also been developed to serve as a low-carbon marine fuel. Maersk, the Copenhagen-based shipping giant, commissioned the world's first methanol-enabled container vessel powered by OCI Global’s green bio-methanol. This has opened a new era of shipping and maritime operations through more sustainable freight since green methanol is three to four times cheaper than regular marine distillate fuels.

Lastly, green methanol can also be used to substitute liquid petroleum gas (LPG) through dimethyl ether (DME), a derivation of methanol products. Since gasoline has higher energy efficiency than gasoline, substituting it requires similar energy-density products such as DME. The synthesis of DME involves converting methanol through a process called methanol dehydration. Through this, it promises cleaner fuel to energize the transportation industry.

Also Read: Green Methanol Emerging as Key Player in Renewable Energy Transition

A Promising Alternative

Green methanol presents a promising solution for sustainable energy needs. Its low carbon emissions and versatility make it an attractive alternative to conventional fuels. However, challenges such as high production costs and efficiency issues must be addressed to enable widespread adoption. Continued R&D, along with supportive policies, can help overcome these barriers.

Author: Muhammad Hasnul