Design framework for dimethyl ether (DME) production from coal and biomass‐derived syngas via simulation approach

Abstract

A comprehensive thermodynamic study was conducted to evaluate the comparative efficacy of methanol and dimethyl ether (DME) synthesis using CO 2 rich syngas feed. The first part of our study included assessing the relative performances of the methanol synthesis system, two step DME synthesis system, and one step DME synthesis system in terms of the CO x conversion and product yield (methanol/ DME) based on the Gibbs free energy minimization approach. The wide range of composition of CO 2 -enriched syngas feed produced by the coal and biomass gasification was simulated using Aspen Plus and the following evaluation parameters were analyzed for a broad parameter range: reaction temperature (180-280 C), reaction pressure (10-80 bar), stoichiometry number (SN) (0-11), and CO 2 / (CO 2 + CO) molar feed ratio (0-1) for isothermal as well as adiabatic conditions. Based on the equilibrium yield, one-step DME synthesis was discovered as the most viable process to utilize the co-gasification derived syngas effectively. In the second part of our study, the overall process efficiency was inspected through the process design of 1 tonnes per day (TPD) DME plant inclusive of heat integration, resulting in significant CO 2 abatement and DME production with high product purity and minimum energy consumption. Consequently, one-step DME production via CO 2enriched syngas obtained through the coal or biomass gasification process is identified as the leading technology based on energy utilization and CO 2 abatement. K E Y W O R D SCO 2 rich syngas, dimethyl ether, methanol, plant design, thermodynamics

Preface to the special issue section: 74th Indian Chemical Engineering Congress (CHEMCON‐2021)

“…Zhou and Mahinpey [10] provide a state-ofart review on the topic of catalyst development for conventional thermal dry reforming of methane at low temperatures, with applications in CO 2 utilization and conversion. Tripathi et al [11] demonstrate comparative efficacy of the synthesis of methanol and dimethyl ether using CO 2 -rich syngas obtained from coal and biomass gasification.…”