Recent Developments as a Center for Coal Gasification for Dimethyl Ether (DME) Production

In order to turn Low Grade Coal into a value added product, and to reduce dependence on foreign LPG Imports, there is a project beginning to develop a Coal Gasification Plant that will convert the syngas to DME
It seems to be using methanol as an intermediate, would be interesting to see if it can divert some of the methanol as a product in of itself
I can't seem to find what plant design it is using etc
Some Links i have Found on the Project:
In terms of environmental impact i have mixed feelings
- I am a MAJOR DME / OMEx nerd/fan
- But i hate coal, *although* depending on what Coal Gasification technology they use ( Entrained Flow Gasification like the Tampa IGCS Plant , this may mainly produce Slag which isn't as harmful and useful to an extent, as compared to conventional Coal Combustion Byproducts ( Concrete Aggregate vs Coal Ash Dams )
  - There still may be some Flue-gas desulfurization materials from Flue-gas desulfurization, although this is largely used in Drywall (an alternative would be Sulfur / Sulfuric Acid )
  - The mercury/selenium etc would be my main concern, getting the Ash Content / composition data would be of interest
    - If these are trapped in the slag (akin to Vitrification ) it should be *okay*, i still dislike those being involved
    - As long as the Leaching potential is minimal/nonexistent i'd find the impact minimal (if it does leach though (akin to those dumbass use cases of Bottom Ash / Fly Ash that just end up contaminating vast swaths of land) this would be a major concern)
  - If they use Fluidized Bed Gasification the products would essentially be the same as Pulverized Coal Combustion or Fluidized Bed Combustion plants, at least as far as i know
- Also given Coal Phaseout being a bit of a mess, this could be seen as " Harm Reduction " although investing in this, vs investing in more direct Green Energy, and any supplemental stuff for Just Transition of the Coal/Related workers is worth considering
  - Another MAJOR factor in the direct climate change impact (not going into Indirect Land Use Change , Market Share of vehicles changed etc) would be what degree of Carbon Capture is used, what method (ie Char Utilization As Carbon Black vs Char Combustion (re: Turquoise Hydrogen and the like), or just Gaseous Carbon Dioxide), The Percentage of Carbon Sequestration vs Carbon Dioxide Utilization, then Carbon Dioxide Utilization Type (is it used to supplant other Hydrocarbon Products (true "Net Zero"), or is it used for Enhanced Oil Recovery which delays the Economic Peak Oil by "breathing new life into" old wells, and making Unconventional Oil economically viable etc)
  - That above bit may need some clearing up, one *hell* of a run on sentence/bullet point
The Economic Impact is a bit tricky
- Coal vs LPG Prices are the main points
- However CNG / LNG infrastructure in Indonesia (Which can lead to replacement of most LPG Stoves in homes, as well as Autogas vehicles etc) needs to be considered
  - Forget which link, but it said they basically can be self sufficient on Natural Gas (is there a page for Natural Gas Reserves in Indonesia / Natural gas in Indonesia etc ?)
- Granted Electrification of transport and household access to Electricity may be another factor (Although to what degree Rail Electrification / BEVs / Electric Stoves]] or Induction Stoves could replace the current market and how long that would take is debatable, although subsidies could change this (which also adds to the cost argument, spend project money on subsidies/rebates etc, Cash for Clunkers and so on)
- Carbon Pricing may also play a role
Another thing to consider is the more indirect impact this could have on DME Infrastructure / DME Fuel / OMEx Fuel Adoption as a whole
- Other OTS solutions such as Oberon Fuels etc can make completely "Green DME" today
- Those, combined with other companies that could form if the infrastructure/demand is there could make this initial bad impact turn into a relatively rapid Fossil Fuel Phase Out due to DME/OMEx being a "Drop In" Solution (Short of needing some sort of new "Feedstock" (So Sustainable Biomass or Electricity for Power-to-X ) if you want it to be green", although making a PILE of turquoise hydrogen/syngas etc could maybe work
Anywho though, i'm rambling and need to get back to work, so i dropped this off here for now and can come back to it later

--Eric Lotze (talk) 14:46, 21 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

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