Methanex plant upgrade allows it to better meet environmental goals

By Medicine Hat News on June 8, 2021.

Work last fall at the Methanex plant site in Medicine Hat allows it to inject more carbon dioxide into its production line to help meet environmental goals, the company says in its sustainability report released this month.

The major upgrade also reduces the amount of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas, released by general operations by 75 per cent, and brings the level of “low carbon” methanol produced by the plant to about 12 per cent, it states.

That totals about 59,000 tonnes of methanol from Medicine Hat that benefits from injecting captured CO2 from the nearby Air Liquide facility.

The company also announced it is now certified to use methane captured at municipal landfills near several U.S. plant sites. That allows the production to be marketed to European customers that are signed on to an emissions reduction effort.

The company has also ordered eight new vessels with capacity to use methanol as fuel in its shipping fleet.