Dimethylether (DME) from natural gas
This project has an interesting background. While urban areas in Korea have ready access to natural gas through a network of pipelines, businesses and families in many rural and remote parts of the country have to depend upon liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders for their heating and cooking applications. Much of the LPG sold in Korea is imported.
Our customer’s strategy is to supplement and eventually replace LPG in Korea with dimethlyether (DME), a clean-burning fuel with properties very similar to those of LPG. Furthermore, the customer intends to produce the DME at various locations around the world where inexpensive gas is available and then ship the product to Korea. The first such commercial plant, with a capacity of 300,000 tons per year will be built in Saudi Arabia.
The Korean customer has developed a proprietary catalyst and process for the direct synthesis of DME from natural gas. Before going commercial, the customer needed to build and operate a demo plant (10 tons per day) to prove the efficacy of this technology and retained Unitel to generate the conceptual, basic and detailed engineering and design packages. The process includes an oxyblown auto-thermal reformer for making synthesis gas, fixed bed boiling water type DME reactors and cryogenic separation of reactants.
The demo project in Korea was highly successful and has provided the basis to implement the commercial plan.
Engagement: C, B, D. Status – completed.