Green Zero-Carbon Methanol Production in China
Partnership in Global Development
by Yalin Xin, Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies and Director of China Studies Institute.
Have you heard of the new technology that can actually turn waste carbon dioxide and hydrogen gases into commercial-grade methanol?
Well, two of the world’s largest plants have been built and are in operation in China right now. The cutting-edge facilities are based on Iceland-headed Emissions-to-Liquids (ELT) technology provider Carbon Recycling International (CRI) and “the first of its type in the world.” The two Chinese companies that collaborated with CRI are Shunli Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. in Henan, and Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemicals Co. Ltd., respectively.
What does this mean for China in its renewable energy development and combating climate change?
China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of methanol, accounting for 65% of the world's production capacity. By turning industrial waste gas into methanol it provides a constructive solution for reducing emissions and thus contributing to the realization of China’s pledged NDC goals, i.e. peaking its emissions of carbon dioxide by 2030. Doing this also offers a green solution to promote energy transformation and achieve the "dual carbon" goals (which aims to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060).
Combined, these two plants (Shunli Environmental Protection Technology and Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemicals) can capture 310,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year, equivalent of taking 113,000 cars off the road. According to CRI, “Indirect emission savings from avoiding the use of fossil raw materials is even larger,” with an estimated combined reduction of CO2 as high as 1,136,000 tons per year, equivalent of 76,400 hectares of forest area. The methanol produced by recycling carbon dioxide is expected to be 210,000 tons annually. This new production presents “an alternative to the traditional coal-based methanol currently manufactured in China, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality” (CRI).
At the recent Asian Games in Hangzhou, China (9/23 – 10/8), “the green zero-carbon methanol recycled from carbon dioxide is used for the first time in the history of Asian Games as fuel for the torch” (DFC 2023).
This is obviously a significant step in global partnership in sustainable development and it gives us a lot of hope in facing the challenges of climate change. “Removing carbon from atmosphere is very costly…the pathway to 1.5 °C has narrowed in the past two years, but clean energy technologies are keeping it open,” said International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol, who calls on governments to “separate climate from geopolitics” for stronger international cooperation” (IEA 2023). Imagine many more such facilities being built in China and in the rest of the world. More and more carbon dioxide is turned into green zero-carbon methanol to free us from dependence on fossil fuel. Together with other forms of renewable energy, such as solar, wind, hydropower, and ongoing innovation in the field, global communities will move steadily closer to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and hold the planet’s long-term average temperature to below the 1.5-degree threshold.
Under a global development paradigm that emphasizes mutuality and partnerships within the global communities in meeting local and shared sustainable development challenges, I hope these partnership projects in renewable energy development may inspire leaders and scholar-practitioners in their own endeavor in the field of development. And that they will learn from global partners in related fields through networking and partnership, engaging in research and reflections, empowering their communities in deciding what the best route is to take in sustainable development.
References
Bioenergy International. 2023. “Start up of Jiangsu Sailboat CO2-to-methanol plant.” Accessed Oct. 5, 2023.
https://bioenergyinternational.com/start-up-of-jiangsu-sailboat-co2-to-methanol-plant/
XINHUANET. 2023. “The light of the main torch of the Hangzhou Asian Games interprets the zero-carbon code of "green methanol." Accessed Oct. 4, 2023.
http://www.news.cn/sports/2023-09/24/c_1129881450.htm
Dahe Fortune Cube (DFC). 2023. “Methanol became the torch fuel of the Asian Games for the first time. How did it achieve green zero carbon? Accessed Oct. 2, 2023.
https://app.dahecube.com/nweb/pc/article.html?artid=176428?recid=517
Carbon Recycling International (CRI). 2023. “The Sailboat CO2 to Green Methanol Project: Chemical Products from Recycled CO2.” Accessed Oct. 4, 2023.
https://www.carbonrecycling.is/projects-sailboat
Hydrocarbon Processing. 2022. “World’s largest CO2-to-methanol plant starts production.” Accessed Sept. 23, 2023.
Guanchazhe (Observer). 2023. The "carbon" road behind the different "100,000+ ton." Accessed Oct. 4, 2023.
https://user.guancha.cn/main/content?id=941327
International Energy Agency (IEA). 2023. “The path to limiting global warming to 1.5 °C has narrowed, but clean energy growth is keeping it open.” Accessed Oct. 2, 2023.