Methanol model

Methanol is an essential precursor to many chemicals, and is also used as a fuel, especially in marine applications. It can be produced from many substances, which the most conventional route using natural gas as the main feedstock, and other developing technologies that combine hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2). A basic framework for modeling methanol production is set up in h2integrate/converters/methanol/methanol_baseclass.py, and specific technologies are modeled in inherited classes. Examples of each methanol production method can be found in examples/03_methanol. Currently, H2I models two methanol production technologies:

1. Steam Methane Reforming (SMR): This is the most prominent commercial production route for methanol in the United States, and utilizes natural gas as the main feedstock. This model is found at h2integrate/converters/methanol/smr_methanol_plant.py. The NREL modeling of this process is based on an NETL Baseline Analysis of Crude Methanol Production from Coal and Natural Gas.

2. CO2 Hydrogenation: This is a developing methanol production technology that directly combines hydrogen with carbon dioxide to produce methanol. This model is found at h2integrate/converters/methanol/co2h_methanol_plant.py. The NREL modeling of this process is based on a combination of three peer-reviewed studies:

   • Perez-Fortes et al.

   • Szima et al.

   • Nyari et al.

This modeling is further documented in a journal publication by Martin et al.