Haldor Topsoe AS has confirmed details of its previously awarded contract to deliver engineering and technology for new units at Houston-based IGP Methanol LLC’s (IGPM) proposed project to build a 7.2 million-tonne/year Gulf Coast Methanol Complex (GCMC) on a 140-acre parcel adjacent to the Mississippi River near Myrtle Grove in Plaquemines Parish, La. (OGJ Online, Jan. 8, 2018).
As part of the contract, Haldor Topsoe will provide engineering for four 1.8 million-tpy methanol plants that will be equipped with its SynCOR methanol technology, which will include supply of proprietary state-of-the-art catalysts and equipment as part of the licensing agreement, the service provider said.
IGPM selected SynCOR methanol-conversion technology for its ability to provide high single-line capacity with the lowest emissions per tonne of methanol produced as well as unrivaled economies of scale, according to James Lamoureaux, IGPM’s managing director.
According to IGPM’s web site, specific benefits of the technology include:
• The high-efficiency SynCOR AutoThermal Reformer, which prevents emissions to the atmosphere. Additionally, the IGPM design will enable recycling of enough steam to drive the air-separation units to further reduce emissions.
• Application of vapor recovery at each point that methanol might escape to the atmosphere, with captured methanol returned to the process.
• Application of selective catalytic reduction technology on each of the boilers and combustion sources to reduce regulated emissions.
• Water treatment allowing for recycling of most water streams to reduce both water needs and discharges.
While Haldor Topsoe did not disclose a value of the order, the contract award follows the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality issuance of a Title V air-quality operating permit for the grassroots complex on Jan. 4.
Project overview
To be developed in four phases, GCMC will produce refined methanol from gas, water, and oxygen, which will be sent to dedicated tanks and transferred to associated marine vessel-loading facilities for export.
As part of the project, IGPM will install a product-loading system at the existing dock with a vapor-recovery system to recycle product back to the complex to reduce emissions and provide best-in-class safety, according to IGPM’s web site.
Air emissions from the complex will result primarily from four in-line boilers, four process heaters, one auxiliary boiler, four backup flares (to be used only for startups and shutdowns), five emergency generators, eight ammonia storage tanks, 14 product storage and day tanks, marine-vessel loading, fugitive-emission controls, and wastewater-treatment equipment.
Wherever technologically feasible, control equipment (e.g., tank-vessel scrubbers) will be employed to recover methanol emissions and recycle it back into the process with 95-98% efficiency, while the boiler and related process equipment will emit only substances associated with burning of clean fuel (i.e., natural gas) and small amounts of process gases.
Construction of each $900-million train will last about 26 months, with some overlap of subsequent units, the operator said.
IGPM—which also has selected project partners for natural gas supply, gas transportation, oxygen and nitrogen supply, as well as storage and loading—additionally will build common services infrastructure for the complex.
Alongside Haldor Topsoe, IGPM has enlisted a series of project collaborators, including:
• ConocoPhillips, which will supply all gas procurement and deliver gas to plant gates on a guaranteed basis.
• Praxair Inc., which will build, own, operate, and maintain the complex’s air-separation units.
• Veolia Environnement SA, which will build and operate GCMC’s water treatment and wastewater plant.
• Entergy Corp., which will build a dedicated electrical substation at the site.
GCMC is scheduled to begin production in late 2020.
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
