Gasoline from Wood via Integrated Gasification, Synthesis, and Methanol-to-Gasoline Technologies

摘要

This report documents the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) assessment of the feasibility of making gasoline via the methanol-to-gasoline (MTG) route using syngas from a 2,000 dry metric tonne/day (2,205 U.S. ton/day) biomass-fed facility. The thermochemical route of biomass gasification produces a syngas rich in hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The syngas is then converted into methanol, and the methanol is converted to gasoline using the methanol-to-gasoline (MTG) process first developed by Exxon Mobil. Using a methodology similar to that used in previous NREL design reports and a feedstock cost of $50.70/dry U.S. ton ($55.89/dry metric tonne), a plant gate price (PGP) was estimated. For the base case the PGP is predicted to be $16.60/MMBtu ($15.73/GJ) (U.S. $2007) for gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) produced from biomass via gasification of wood, methanol synthesis, and the methanol-to-gasoline process (MTG). The corresponding unit prices for gasoline and LPG are $1.95/gallon ($0.52/liter) and $1.53/gallon ($0.40/liter) with yields of 55.1 and 9.3 gallons per U.S. ton of dry biomass (229.9 and 38.8 liters per metric tonne of dry biomass), respectively. For comparison to ethanol, this is $1.39 per gallon ($0.37/liter) ethanol on an energy equivalent basis. In comparison, based on analysis work completed at NREL, the predicted plant gate prices for ethanol produced via the thermochemical and biochemical pathways are $1.57 per gallon ($0.41 per liter) and $1.49 per gallon ($0.39 per liter), respectively (OBP 2009).