INITIAL SITUATION
As solar and wind power capacity expands, demand is growing for energy storage systems that can supply electricity when little renewable energy is fed into the grid and electricity prices are correspondingly high.
However, storage solutions discussed so far, such as hydrogen, ammonia or methanol made from hydrogen and CO₂, involve high costs. What is needed is an energy carrier that can be produced at low cost, stored for long periods and transported over long distances.
PROJECT OBJECTIVE
The overarching objective of the project is to develop an innovative concept for producing methanol as an energy carrier for flexible power generation.
The approach: low-cost carbon-containing residues are converted into synthesis gas through gasification. Hydrogen from electrolysis is then added, and the resulting gas is converted into methanol through catalytic synthesis. In liquid form, methanol can be stored and transported cost-effectively and used to generate electricity when needed.
Compared with producing methanol from hydrogen and CO₂ or storing energy as hydrogen or ammonia, this concept promises a significant reduction in costs. The project focuses on the process steps with the greatest need for development: feedstock qualification and preparation, gasification and gas cleaning.
OUR SOLUTION
As part of the project, PlasmaAir AG is qualifying plasma reforming as an efficient process step in the process chain, with the aim of increasing the yield of synthesis gas from biogenic residues.
To achieve this, we are developing arc-heated plasma torches and adapting them specifically to the composition of the synthesis gas produced by Chemical Looping Gasification (CLG). The plasma torch is used in a downstream reformer: by forming radicals, the hydrocarbons contained in the synthesis gas are efficiently converted into hydrogen (H₂) and carbon monoxide (CO).
This brings two benefits: the overall yield of usable synthesis gas increases, and less additional oxidising agent is required than in conventional partial oxidation (POX).
