Carbon Recycling International to build second CO2-based green methanol plant in China

In China, Chinese petrochemicals corporation Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemicals Co. ltd has signed an agreement with Icelandic technology company Carbon Recycling International – CRI hf., to design a chemical plant based on CRI’s Emissions to Liquids (ETL) technology. 

The plant will recycle approximately 150,000 metric tons of CO2 and 20,000 metric tons of H2 per year from other onsite processes to produce 100,000 tons of methanol annually. The Jiangsu Sailboat Green Methanol plant will be built in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province on the east coast of China, integrated into their 15 km2 Shenghong petrochemical industrial park.

Methanol is the main raw material used in Jiangsu Sailboat’s existing 2.4 million metric tons per year production of a wide product range of polymers and plastics. These include products used for making solar panels and plexiglass.

The CRI ETL plant’s direct use of 150,000 metric tons of CO2 annually, will equal the effect of taking 53,000 fossil fueled cars off the roads. Indirect emission savings from avoiding the use of fossil raw materials is even larger, estimated to be as high as 550,000 tons per year. This is equivalent to 37,000 hectares of forest planting area, or 370 square kilometers of land.

The plant will be owned and operated by Jiangsu Sailboat and is expected to begin its operation in 2023. The cost of the project is estimated around USD 35 million (RMB 225 million).

This project will be the second in China based on CRI’s ETL technology. The first CRI project, the Shunli plant in Anyang, Henan province, is currently in the final stages of construction and expected to be in operation early next year.

CRI, with its local JV partner MFE, will facilitate the project execution, providing design, engineering and technology license for the CO2-to-methanol process along with key proprietary equipment and related services.