Methanol Economy Proposal (BP Ultimate Field Trip 2010)

Pre-Combustion Capture Synergies is a team of undergraduate engineering students from Durham University (Annabel Lush, Adam Parrott and Tom Leach).

This video describes some key aspects of 'Pre-Combustion Capture Synergies' proposal to reduce the cost of carbon abatement and risk of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) projects.

The proposal focuses on using 'synthesis gas' (a composition of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen) which is produced from reforming natural gas. We propose using this gas for the production of methanol and electricity.

A key aspect of our proposal was the role methanol would play in catalysing a transition to a low carbon transport sector. Methanol can be produced from electricity and carbon dioxide and ultimately in the future; from atmospheric carbon dioxide.

We provided a carbon dioxide transport infrastructure that would allow the production of methanol from low carbon electricity, giving a fuel with less than half the carbon footprint of the petrol currently used.

We identified synergies between the power generation sector and the transport sector that would provide a better solution to the transition to a low carbon economy.

Category:

Science & Technology

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• Tom
• Leach
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• Lush
• Adam
• Parrott
• Pre-Combustion
• Capture
• Synergies
• Precombustion
• Carbon
• Storage
• Methanol
• Economy
• Lotus
• James
• Turner
• Enhanced
• Oil
• Recovery
• Flex
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• Biofuels
• BP
• Ultimate
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• Durham
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• A.
• Olah

[samueltak]

What do you guys have to say if methanol goes mainstream in the automobile industry (which is highly unlikely), gas stations offer methanol pumps which leads to an open source for methanol poison, and ignorant minors experiment, drink, and immediately go blind or even die after drinking only ~10 mL of methanol.

[adamparrott1]

@samueltak There have been fleet trails in the US and Canada of 15,000 vehicles without a single incident of poisoning reported. The EPA in the US concluded that methanol is actually a safer transport fuel than gasoline as it is not explosive and does not form an explosive gas vapour as readily.

Also, we could engineer safety interlocks to make it very difficult for 'ignorant minors' to obtain vehicle fuel to drink.

[adamparrott1]

Please googl; Extending the Supply of Alcohol Fuels for Energy Security and Carbon Reduction, Turner et al for the paper containing the figures I've mentioned.

[Zealless]

@samueltak

Well, you can actually modify the nozzle and build a vapour return line on the nozzle to solve this problem. ain't rocket science/technology, most of the race car have this kind of refueling intake system.

If someone minor can dumb enough to drink methanol, well they can drink petrol, diesel or they can play with bio-gas or some petroleum product. we can have less of this kind of people, to actually save the environment, cull human population. so methanol or cull human ... ?

[tomerqueves]

os crujo al usuario un millon