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OPPORTUNITIES

Sustainable energy vectors:

methanol perspectives

Rosetti Marino focuses on methanol
as sustainable fuel of the future
particularly in maritime applications

Luca Basini, Technology Advisor, R&D
Fabio Furesi, R&D
Cesario Mondelli, Director, Shipbuilding R&D
Nicola Mondelli, Director, Research and Technology
Development
Rosetti Marino S.p.A.

The Stena Germanica is the fi rst commercial ship in the world to run on methanol
as its main fuel

n our current systemic approach, the primary energy
sources (Oil, Natural Gas, Coal, Nuclear, Sun, Wind, This article will review the characteristics of
Hydro, Geothermal energy sources) have been chan- methanol, one of the possible energy
nelled, with different shares, into secondary energy “vectors that could contribute to the improvement
sources, the energy vectors, in ways that need to be
Ipartially redefi ned for allowing a sustainable anthro- of the sustainability of the energy production and
pocene for current and future generations . utilization chains
1
There is hence a general agreement on the necessity
of: i) increasing the energy effi ciency in our transforma-
tion processes, ii) reducing the share of Oil & Gas and
Coal energy sources and increasing the share of the re-
newable ones, iii) utilising energy vectors allowing low
CO and pollutant emissions. For accomplishing these Methanol uses
2
results, also the energy production and utilization tech- The methanol molecule is an important commodity in
nologies will need to be “adjusted”. chemical industry with an overall worldwide production
This article will briefl y review the characteristics of one of 83 MTPY and an overall production capacity of 127
of the possible energy vectors that could contribute to MTPY (202) 2, 3, 4 . The main feedstock is the natural gas
the improvement of the sustainability of the energy pro- (65%) and the second one is coal (35%) that indeed is
duction and utilization chains, methanol. Accordingly, we utilised almost exclusively in China. Renewable sources,
will touch main points concerning the current production such as biogas and wastes, give currently a minor con-
methods and applications, the foreseen developments tribution.
and we will introduce a possible innovative technologi- However, since the 70ties, methanol is utilised in the
cal solution. This one concerns the utilisation of carbon energy fi eld as main building block for producing the
dioxide and hydrogen containing streams converted into methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) that has become, since
synthesis gas with an electrifi ed reverse water gas shift then, a mayor gasoline additive. Another possible use of
reactor and subsequently in methanol. methanol is for dimethyl-ether (DME) synthesis, a mol-

Impiantistica Italiana - Gennaio-Febbraio 2022 65