Performance analysis of the wind energy integrated with a natural-gas-to-methanol process

Abstract

Methanol is an important platform chemical. The conversion of natural gas is the most widely used technology to produce methanol. With the development of chemical industry, the situation of energy shortage has become very serious. The exploration and adoption of renewable energy is an alternative way to solve the crisis of energy shortage. Wind energy is one of the most prominent energy source among all renewable energy sources in the Chinese energy markets. In this paper, wind energy integrated with natural-gas-to-methanol (WGTM) process is proposed. Performance analysis including carbon efficiency, energy efficiency, production cost, carbon reduction benefit, and impact of carbon tax is conducted. Based on the comparison results of NGTM (natural-gas-to-methanol) and WGTM (wind energy integrated with natural-gas-to-methanol), it can be concluded that the proposed system may be ready for industrialization at the near future. The wind energy integration provides a promising way to reduce carbon dioxide emission. The WGTM can be a flexible way to slow down the GHG effect.