NEWS FILE PHOTO
Medicine Hat's Methanex facility on the North end of the city on Monday.
The company is exploring the potential to add a bio-gas production wing at the methanol plant, according to its latest sustainability report to shareholders.
@@CollinGallant
Methanex is considering building a bio-digester at its Medicine Hat plant site to provide renewable natural gas to, in turn, make into “bio-methanol.”
The project, which is still at the initial exploratory stage, is highlighted in the company’s 2024 Sustainability Report, released last week.
It states, however, that while demand for supplies of renewable natural gas and its derivatives are high compared to traditional natural gas, the capital investment would “not be significant” but government support and climate programs may be needed to make it economically feasible.
The Vancouver-based global producer says it is taking several actions to move into the bio-methanol production.
A volume of renewable natural gas has been contracted at its Louisiana plant sites, and it is considering building its own production facility at its facility in north Medicine Hat.
“We are examining the possibility of co-locating a biomass-based biogas facility next to our Medicine Hat facility,” reads the report which outlines the company’s action to meet environmental goals.
“Similar to other low-carbon methanol projects, this (bio-digester) project requires significant government support to be commercially viable.”
The reports states that Ag by-product, likely straw, would be the feedstock used locally, if the project goes ahead.
A bio-digester is essentially a containment unit in which organic material is broken down -similar to a stomach – to and the methane produced is siphoned off and could be used as a feedstock in methanol production. Heat and carbon dioxide produced from the process could also be used to at the plant which makes the solvent and plastics additive that is also an industrial additive, antifreeze or alternative fuel. The nutrient-rich residue could be used a farm input.
“We would be able to use those three inputs to produce methanol,” states the report, referring to synthetic gas, CO2 and heat. “The project would have an additional circularity component by returning a nutrient-rich byproduct back to the land, enhancing soil health and supporting local agriculture.”
The company is currently working with Alberta-firm Entropy to design a CO2 capture system at the Medicine Hat plant, which produces 600,000 tonnes of methanol annually, though a final investment decision on the $100 million upgrade is still outstanding.
Plants in Geismar, La. are also being considered for CCUS upgrades.
The company’s CO2 reduction goal is to reduce emissions intensity by 10 per cent by 2030, and has stated one low carbon project would move to a final investment decision in 2025.
The company has also contracted green power sources for 20 to 30 per cent of its needs at Geismar plant sites.
