State-owned power generation company NTPC has recently partnered with Tecnimont to explore green methanol production at a commercial scale.
Details –
- The green methanol project involves capturing carbon from NTPC power plants and converting it into a green fuel.
- The objective of the partnership was to demonstrate technologies for firing a higher percentage of Torrefied Biomass in NTPC’s coal fired units, Methanol Firing and Ammonia Firing.
What is Green methanol?
- Green methanol is methanol that is produced renewably and without polluting emissions, one of its variants being generated from green hydrogen.
- It is a low-carbon fuel that can be made from either biomass gasification or renewable electricity and captured carbon dioxide (CO2).
- This chemical compound can be used as a low-carbon liquid fuel and is a promising alternative to fossil fuels in areas where decarbonisation is a major challenge, such as maritime transport.
Other classifications –
- Grey methanol — It is obtained by synthesis reaction from methane present in natural gas (or in some cases, as in China, still from coal). It is therefore not a renewable or clean energy.
- Blue methanol — It is also obtained by synthesis derived from natural gas, but includes as part of the process the capture and storage of the carbon generated during its production, converting it into a less polluting product.
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