CRI and Jiangsu Sailboat start up CO2-to-methanol plant

This collaborative project brought together teams from around the world, bringing the plant to life in under two years from contract signing. The project's completion represents a global approach to tackling a shared environmental concern, with technical know-how and technology first demonstrated in Iceland playing a vital role in this solution.

The Jiangsu Sailboat Methanol plant operates with CRI’s proprietary emissions-to-liquids (ETL) technology, transforming waste carbon dioxide and hydrogen gases into sustainable, commercial-grade methanol. The facility is built to recycle 150 000 tpy of carbon dioxide sourced from waste streams at the large petrochemical complex.

The plant has the capacity to produce 100 000 tpy of sustainable methanol – the second-largest CO₂-to-methanol plant in the world. Used primarily to supply its olefins facility, this methanol will be used to produce chemical derivatives, including sustainable plastics and EVA coatings for solar panels. This will reduce the reliance on fossil-based methanol to drive more sustainable value chains and carbon footprint reduction initiatives across various sectors, such as industrial manufacturing and renewable energy.

Qian Xinhua, Vice President of Shenghong Petrochemical Industry Group, said: “This green industrial value chain project is a significant step forward. It uses advanced green and low-carbon technology to capture carbon dioxide and turn it into a resource. Further implementation of such technology allows us to combine green hydrogen, renewable energy, and more to create new materials, replacing the traditional raw materials used in the chemical industry.”

With the start-up of the Sailboat plant, CRI's ETL technology portfolio now has the capacity to recycle over 300 000 tpy of CO₂ (direct CO₂).

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/petrochemicals/10102023/cri-and-jiangsu-sailboat-start-up-co2-to-methanol-plant/