beyond oil and gas the methanol economy

George A. Olah, Alain Goeppert,
and G. K. Surya Prakash
Beyond Oil and Gas:
The Methanol Economy
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ISBN: 978-0-471-77208-8
George A. Olah, Alain Goeppert,
and G. K. Surya Prakash
Beyond Oil and Gas:
The Methanol Economy
Second updated and enlarged edition
The Authors
Prof. Dr. George Olah
Dr. Alain Goeppert
Prof. Dr. G. K. Surya Prakash
Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute
University of Southern California
837 W. 37th. Street
Los Angeles, CA 90089-1661
USA
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publisher do not warrant the information contained
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errors. Readers are advised to keep in mind that
statements, data, illustrations, procedural details or
other items may inadvertently be inaccurate.
Library of Congress Card No.: applied for
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the
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the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this
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detailed bibliographic data are available on the
Internet at .
# 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA,
Weinheim
All rights reserved (including those of translation into
other languages). No part of this book may be
reproduced in any form – by photoprinting,
microfilm, or any other means – nor transmitted or
translated into a machine language without written
permission from the publishers. Registered names,
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unprotected by law.
Cover Design Adam-Design, Weinheim
Typesetting Thomson Digital, Noida, India
Printing and Binding betz-druck GmbH, Darmstadt
Printed in the Federal Republic of Germany
Printed on acid-free paper
ISBN: 978-3-527-32422-4
Contents
Preface to the Second Updated Edition XI
Acronyms and Initialisms XIII
Units and their Abbreviations XV
1 Introduction 1
2 History of Coal in the Industrial Revolution and Beyond 11
3 History of Petroleum Oil and Natural Gas 19
3.1 Oil Extraction and Exploration 23
3.2 Natural Gas 24
4 Fossil Fuel Resources and Their Use 29
4.1 Coal 30

4.2 Petroleum Oil 35
4.3 Unconventional Oil Sources 39
4.3.1 Tar Sands 40
4.3.2 Oil Shale 41
4.4 Natural Gas 42
4.5 Coalbed Methane 49
4.6 Tight Sands and Shales 50
4.7 Methane Hydrates 50
4.8 Outlook 53
5 Diminishing Oil and Natural Gas Reserves 55
6 The Continuing Need for Carbon Fuels, Hydrocarbons
and their Products 65
6.1 Fractional Distillation 68
6.2 Thermal Cracking 69
V
7 Fossil Fuels and Climate Change 77
7.1 Effects of Fossil Fuels on Climate Change 77
7.2 Mitigation 86
8 Renewable Energy Sources and Atomic Energy 91
8.1 Introduction 91
8.2 Hydropower 93
8.3 Geothermal Energy 98
8.4 Wind Energy 102
8.5 Solar Energy: Photovoltaic and Thermal 105
8.5.1 Electricity from Photovoltaic Conversion 106
8.5.2 Solar Thermal Power for Electricity Production 108
8.5.3 Electric Power from Saline Solar Ponds 110
8.5.4 Solar Thermal Energy for Heating 110
8.5.5 Economic Limitations of Solar Energy 111
8.6 Bioenergy 112

8.6.1 Electricity from Biomass 112
8.6.2 Liquid Biofuels 113
8.6.3 Biomethanol 117
8.6.4 Advantages and Limitation of Biofuels 117
8.7 Ocean Energy: Tidal, Wave and Thermal Power 118
8.7.1 Tidal Energy 118
8.7.2 Wave Power 120
8.7.3 Ocean Thermal Energy 120
8.8 Nuclear Energy 121
8.8.1 Energy from Nuclear Fission Reactions 123
8.8.2 Breeder Reactors 128
8.8.3 The Need for Nuclear Power 129
8.8.4 Economics 130
8.8.5 Safety 132
8.8.6 Radiation Hazards 133
8.8.7 Nuclear By-Products, Waste and Their Management 135
8.8.8 Emissions 136
8.8.9 Nuclear Fusion 137
8.8.10 Nuclear Power: An Energy Source for the Future 140
8.9 Future Outlook 140
9 The Hydrogen Economy and its Limitations 143
9.1 Hydrogen and its Properties 143
9.2 Development of Hydrogen Energy 145
9.3 Production and Uses of Hydrogen 148
9.3.1 Hydrogen from Fossil Fuels 150
9.3.2 Hydrogen from Biomass 151
9.3.3 Photobiological Water Cleavage 152
9.3.4 Water Electrolysis 152
VI Contents
9.3.5 Hydrogen Production Using Nuclear Energy 155

9.4 The Challenge of Hydrogen Storage 156
9.4.1 Liquid Hydrogen 156
9.4.2 Compressed Hydrogen 158
9.4.3 Metal Hydrides and Solid Absorbents 159
9.4.4 Other Means of Hydrogen Storage 160
9.5 Centralized or Decentralized Distribution of Hydrogen? 161
9.6 Hydrogen Safety 163
9.7 Hydrogen as a Transportation Fuel 164
9.8 Fuel Cells 166
9.8.1 History 166
9.8.2 Fuel Cell Efficiency 167
9.8.3 Hydrogen-Based Fuel Cells 169
9.8.4 PEM Fuel Cells for Transportation 173
9.8.5 Regenerative Fuel Cells 175
9.9 Outlook 177
10 The ‘‘ Methanol Economy’’ : General Aspects 179
11 Methanol and Dimethyl Ether as Fuels and Energy Carriers 185
11.1 Background and Properties 185
11.2 Chemical Uses of Methanol 187
11.3 Methanol as a Transportation Fuel 189
11.3.1 Development of Alcohols as Transportation Fuels 189
11.3.2 Methanol as Fuel in Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) 193
11.3.3 Methanol as Fuel in Compression Ignition (Diesel) Engines 195
11.4 Dimethyl Ether as a Transportation Fuel 197
11.5 DME Fuel for Electricity Generation and as a Household
Gas 200
11.6 Biodiesel Fuel 202
11.7 Advanced Methanol-Powered Vehicles 203
11.8 Hydrogen for Fuel Cells Based on Methanol Reforming 203
11.9 Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) 207

11.10 Fuel Cells Based on Other Methanol Derived Fuels and
Biofuel Cells 212
11.11 Regenerative Fuel Cell 213
11.12 Methanol and DME as Marine Fuels 213
11.13 Methanol and DME for Static Power and Heat Generation 214
11.14 Methanol and DME Storage and Distribution 216
11.15 Price of Methanol and DME 219
11.16 Safety of Methanol and DME 220
11.17 Emissions from Methanol- and DME-Powered Vehicles 225
11.18 Environmental Effects of Methanol and DME 227
11.19 Beneficial Effect of Chemical CO
2
Recycling to Methanol on
Climate Change 230
Contents VII
12 Production of Methanol: From Fossil Fuels and Bio-Sources to
Chemical Carbon Dioxide Recycling 233
12.1 Methanol from Fossil Fuels 236
12.1.1 Production via Syn-Gas 236
12.1.2 Syn-Gas from Natural Gas 239
12.1.2.1 Steam Reforming of Methane 239
12.1.2.2 Partial Oxidation of Methane 240
12.1.2.3 Autothermal Reforming and Combination of Steam Reforming
with Partial Oxidation 240
12.1.2.4 Syn-Gas from CO
2
Reforming of Methane 241
12.1.3 Syn-Gas from Petroleum Oil and Higher Hydrocarbons 241
12.1.4 Syn-Gas from Coal 242
12.1.5 Economics of Syn-Gas Generation 242

12.2 Methanol through Methyl Formate 243
12.3 Methanol from Methane without Producing Syn-Gas 244
12.3.1 Direct Oxidation of Methane to Methanol 244
12.3.2 Catalytic Gas-Phase Oxidation of Methane 245
12.3.3 Liquid-Phase Oxidation of Methane to Methanol 247
12.3.4 Methane into Methanol Conversion through Monohalogenated
Methanes 249
12.3.5 Microbial or Photochemical Conversion of Methane into Methanol 251
12.4 Methanol from Biomass, Including Cellulosic Sources 252
12.4.1 Methanol from Biogas 259
12.4.2 Aquaculture 261
12.4.2.1 Water Plants 261
12.4.2.2 Algae 262
12.5 Chemical Recycling of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol 264
12.5.1 Carbon Dioxide into Methanol Conversion with Methane 266
12.5.2 CO
2
Conversion into Methanol with Bi-reforming of Methane 268
12.5.3 Dimethyl Ether Production from Syn-Gas or Carbon Dioxide 269
12.5.4 Combining Chemical or Electrochemical Reduction and
Hydrogenation of CO
2
271
12.5.5 Separating Carbon Dioxide from Industrial and Natural Sources
for Chemical Recycling 273
12.5.6 Separation of Carbon Dioxide from the Atmosphere 275
13 Methanol-Based Chemicals, Synthetic Hydrocarbons and Materials 279
13.1 Methanol-Based Chemical Products and Materials 279
13.2 Methyl tert-butyl Ether and DME 281
13.3 Methanol Conversion into Light Olefins and Synthetic

Hydrocarbons 282
13.4 Methanol to Olefin (MTO) Processes 283
13.5 Methanol to Gasoline (MTG) Processes 285
13.6 Methanol-Based Proteins 287
13.7 Outlook 288
VIII Contents
14 Conclusions and Outlook 289
14.1 Where We Stand Now 289
14.2 The ‘‘ Methanol Economy’’, a Solution for the Future 291
References 297
For Further Reading and Information 317
Index 327
Contents IX

Preface to the Second Updated Edition
After just three years since the publication of the first edition of our book it is
rewarding that favorable reception and interest prompted our publisher to suggest
an updated edition. The concept of our proposed ‘‘ Methanol Economy’’ in the
intervening time has made progress from extended research to practical develop-
ment in countries around the world. From smaller demonstration plants to full-scale
methanol and derived dimethyl ether (DME) plants, practical industrial applications
are growing in this field. These include carbon dioxide to methanol (and DME)
conversion plants but also large million metric tonnes per year, coal or natural gas
based mega-plants using still available large coal and natural gas resources. The full
potential of the Methanol Economy will be realized, however, when the chemical
recycling of natural and industrial carbon dioxide sources into methanol and its
derived products are widely implemented, making their use environmentally carbon
neutral and regenerative. This will allow us to mitigate the grave environmental
problems linked to global warming. At the same time chemical carbon dioxide
recycling, eventually from the air itself, will provide humankind with an inexhaus-

tible carbon source available everywhere on earth. The needed hydrogen for the
conversion of CO
2
into methanol can be produced from water using any renewable
or atomic energy source. This conversion will allow the continued production of
convenient transportation and household fuels, and synthetic hydrocarbons and
their products on which we all so much depend on. It should be emphasized that
methanol is not an energy source but only a convenient way to store, transport and
use any form of energy. We are not suggesting that this approach is necessarily in all
aspects the only solution for the future. The Methanol Economy, however, is a new
feasible and realistic approach, warranting further development and increasing
practical application.
Los Angeles, August 2009 George A. Olah
Alain Goeppert
G.K. Surya Prakash
XI

Acronyms and Initialisms
AFC alkaline fuel cell
BP British Petroleum
BWR boiling water reactor
CEA Commissariat à lEnergie Atomique (France)
CEC California Energy Commission
CI compression ignition
CIA Central Intelligence Agency
DME dimethyl ether
DMFC direct methanol fuel cell
DOE Department of Energy (United States)
EDF Electricité de France
EIA Energy Information Administration (DOE)

EPA Environmental Protection Agency (United States)
EPRI Electric Power Research Institute
EU European Union
GDP gross domestic product
GHG greenhouse gas
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency
ICE internal combustion engine
IEA International Energy Agency
IGCC integrated gasification combined cycle
IPCC International Panel on Climate Change
ITER International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor
JAERI Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute
LNG liquefied natural gas
MCFC molten carbonate fuel cell
MTBE methyl-tert-butyl ether
NRC National Research Council (United States)
NREL National Renewable Energy Laboratory (United States)
OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
XIII
ORNL Oak Ridge National Laboratory
OTEC ocean thermal energy conversion
PAFC phosphoric acid fuel cell
PEMFC proton exchange membrane fuel cell
PFBC pressurized fluidized bed combustion
PV photovoltaics
PWR pressurized water reactor
R/P reserve over production ratio
SUV sport utility vehicle
TPES total primary energy supply

UNO United Nations Organization
UNSCEAR United Nations Scientific Committee on Effects of Atomic
Radiation
UNEP United Nation Environmental Program
URFC unitized regenerative fuel cell
USCB United States Census Bureau
USGS United States Geological Survey
WCD World Commission on Dams
WCI World Coal Institute
WEC World Energy Council
WMO World Meteorological Organization
ZEV zero emission vehicle
XIV Acronyms and Initialisms
Units and their Abbreviations
atm atmosphere
b and bbl barrel
btu British thermal unit
8C degree Celsius
cal calorie
g gram
h hour
ha hectare
kWh kilowatt-hour
m meter
Mb megabarrel (10
6
barrels)
ppm parts per million
s second
Sv Sievert

t metric tonne
toe tonne oil equivalent
W watt
Prefixes
m micro 10
À6
m milli 10
À3
k kilo 10
3
M mega 10
6
G giga 10
9
T tera 10
12
P peta 10
15
E exa 10
18
XV
Conversion of Units
Volume
1 tonne of crude oil ¼ 7.33 barrels of oil
1 gallon ¼ 3.785 liters
1 barrel of oil ¼ 42 U.S. gallons ¼ 159 liters
1m
3
¼ 1000 liters
1m

3
¼ 35.3 cubic feet (ft
3
)
Energy
1 kcal ¼ 4.1868 kJ ¼ 3.968 Btu
1kJ¼ 0.239 kcal ¼ 0.948 Btu
1 kWh ¼ 860 kcal ¼ 3600 kJ
1 toe ¼ 41.87 GJ
Quadrillion Btu, QBtu ¼ 1 Â 10
15
Bt
XVI Units and their Abbreviations
1
Introduction
Ever since our distant ancestors managed to light fire for providing heat, means for
cooking and many essential purposes, humankinds life and survival has been
inherently linked with an ever-increasing thirst for energy. From burning wood,
vegetation, peat moss and other sources to the use of coal, followed by petroleum oil
and natural gas (fossil fuels), we have thrived using Natures resources [1]. Fossil
fuels include coal, oil and gas – all composed of hydrocarbons with varying ratios of
carbon and hydrogen.
Hydrocarbons derived from petroleum oil, natural gas or coal are essential in many
ways to modern life and its quality. The bulk of the worlds hydrocarbons are used as
fuels for propulsion, electrical power generation and heating. The chemical, petro-
chemical, plastics and rubber industries also depend upon hydrocarbons as raw
materials for their products. Indeed, most industrially significant synthetic chemi-
cals are derived from petroleum sources. The overall use of oil in the world is now
close to 12 million metric tons per day [2]. An ever-increasing world population
(presently nearing 7 billion and projected to increase to 8–11 billion by the middle

of the twenty-first century [3]; Table 1.1) and energy consumption, compared with
our finite non-renewable fossil fuel resources, which will be increasingly depleted,
are clearly on a collision course. New solutions will be needed for the twenty-first
century to sustain the standard of living to which the industrialized world has become
accustomed and to which the developing world is striving to achieve.
The rapidly growing world population, which stood at 1.6 billion at the beginning
of the twentieth century, is now approaching 7 billion. With an increasingly
technological society, the worlds resources have difficulty keeping up with demands.
Satisfying our societys needs while safeguarding the environment and allowing
future generations to continue to enjoy planet Earth as a hospitable homeisoneofthe
major challenges that we face today. Man needs not only food, water, shelter, clothing
and many other prerequisites but also increasingly huge amounts of energy. In 2004
the world used some 1.13 Â 10
20
calories per year (131 Petawatt-hours), equivalent
to a continuous power consumption of about 15 terawatts (TW), which is comparable
to the production of 15 000 nuclear power plants each of 1 GW output [4]. With
increasing world population, development and higher standards of living, this
demand for energy is expected to grow to 21 TW in 2025 (Figure 1.1). In 2050
the demand is expected to reach 30 TW.
j
1
Figure 1.1 World primary energy consumption 1970–2025 in
units of (a) petawatthours; (b) Btu (British thermal units). (Based
on data from: Energy Information Administration (EIA),
International Energy Outlook 2007.)
Table 1.1 World population.
Year 1650 1750 1800 1850 1900 1920 1952 2000 2009 Projection 2050
a
Population (millions) 545 728 906 1171 1608 1813 2409 6200 6800 8000 to 11 000

a
Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division.
2
j
1 Introduction
Our early ancestors discovered fire and began to burn wood. The industrial
revolution was fueled by coal, and the twentieth century added oil and natural gas
and introduced atomic energy.
When fossil fuels such as coal, oil or natural gas (i.e., hydrocarbons) are burnt to
generate electricity in power plants, or to heat our houses, propel our cars, airplanes,
and so on, they form carbon dioxide and water as the combustion products. They
are thus used up, and are non-renewable on the human timescale.
Fossil fuels: petroleum oil, natural gas, tar-sand, shale bitumen, coals
They are mixtures of hydrocarbons (i.e., compounds of the elements carbon and
hydrogen). When oxidized (combusted) they form carbon dioxide (CO
2
) and
water (H
2
O) and thus are not renewable on the human timescale.
Nature has given us, intheformofoil and natural gas, a remarkable gift. It hasbeen
determined that a single barrel of oil has the energy equivalent of 12 people working
all year, or 25 000 man hours [5]. With each American consuming on average about
25 barrels of oil per year, this would amount to each of them having 300 people
working all year long to power the industries and man their households to maintain
their current standard of living. Considering the present cost of oil, this is truly a
bargain. What was created over the ages, however, mankind is consuming rather
rapidly. Petroleum and natural gas are used on a massive scale to generate energy,
and also as raw materials for diverse man-made materials and products such as the
plastics, pharmaceuticals and dyes that have been developed during the twentieth

century. The United States energy consumption is heavily based on fossil fuels, with
atomic energy and other sources (hydro, geothermal, solar, wind, etc.) representing
only a modest 15% of the energy mix (Table 1.2) [6].
With regard to electricity generation, coal still represents about half of the fuel
used, with some 19% for natural gas and 19% for nuclear energy (Table 1.3).
Other industrialized countries, in contrast, obtain between 20% and 90% of their
electrical energy from non-fossil sources (Table 1.4) [7].
Oil use has grown to the point where the world consumption is around 85 million
barrels (1 barrel equals 42 gallons, i.e., some 160 L) a day, or almost 12 million metric
Table 1.2 United States energy consumption by fuel (%).
Energy source 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2005
Oil 44.2 43.5 43.7 39.6 38.8 40.4
Natural gas 27.5 32.1 26.1 23.3 24.2 22.6
Coal 21.8 18.1 19.7 22.6 22.8 22.8
Nuclear energy 0.002 0.4 3.5 7.2 7.9 8.1
Hydro-, geothermal,
solar, wind, and so on
6.5 6.0 7.0 7.2 6.2 6.1
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2008, Section 19, Energy and
Utilities.
1 Introduction
j
3
tonnes [2]. Fortunately, we still have significant worldwide reserves left, including
heavy oils, oil shale and tar-sands and even larger deposits of coal (a mixture of
complex carbon compounds more deficient in hydrogen than oil and gas). Our more
plentiful coal reserves may last for 200–300 years, but at a higher socio-economical
and environmental cost. It is not suggested that our resources will run out in the
near future, but it is clear that they will become even scarcer, much more expensive,
and will not last for very long. With a world population nearing 7 billion and still

growing (as indicated earlier, it may reach 8–11 billion), the demand for oil and
gas will only increase. It is also true that, in the past, dire predictions of rapidly
disappearing oil and gas reserves have always been incorrect (Table 1.5) [2, 8]. Until
fairly recently the reserves have been growing, but lately theyseem to have leveled off.
The question is, however, what is meant by depletion and what is the real extent
of our reserves? Proven oil reserves, instead of being depleted, have in fact almost
Table 1.4 Electricity generated in industrial countries by non-fossil fuels (%, 2004).
Country
Conventional
thermal Hydroelectric Nuclear
Geothermal,
solar, wind,
wood and waste
Total
non-fossil
France 9.4 10.9 78.6 1.1 90.6
Canada 25.7 58.0 14.7 1.6 74.3
Germany 61.9 3.6 27.5 6.9 38.1
Japan 62.2 9.2 26.4 2.2 37.8
Korea, South 62.8 1.2 35.9 0.1 37.2
United States 71.0 6.7 19.8 2.4 29.0
United Kingdom 75.5 1.3 20.0 3.2 24.5
Italy 81.1 14.1 0.0 4.8 18.9
Source: Energy Information Administration, International Energy Annual 2007,World Net Electricity
Generation by Type, 2004.
Table 1.3 Electricity generation in the United States by fuel (%).
1990 2000 2005
Coal 52.5 51.7 49.8
Petroleum 4.2 2.9 3.0
Natural gas 12.6 16.2 19.0

Nuclear 19.0 19.8 19.3
Hydroelectric 9.6 7.2 6.6
Geothermal 0.5 0.4 0.4
Wood 1.1 1.0 0.9
Waste 0.438 0.607 0.594
Wind 0.092 0.147 0.361
Solar 0.013 0.013 0.012
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2008, Section 19, Energy and
Utilities.
4
j
1 Introduction
doubled during the past 30 years and now exceed 150 billion tonnes (more than one
trillion barrels) [2]. This seems so impressive that many people assume that there is
no real oil shortage in sight. However, increasing consumption due to increasing
standards of living, coupled with a growing world population, makes it more realistic
to consider per-capita reserves. Based on this consideration, it becomes evident that
our known accessible reserves will not last for much more than this century. Even if
all other factors are taken into account (new findings, savings, alternate sources, etc.)
our overall reserves will inevitably decrease, and thus we will increasingly face
a major shortage. Oil and gas will not become exhausted overnight, but market
forces of supply and demand will start to drive the prices up to levels that nobody even
wants to presently contemplate. Therefore, if we do not find new solutions, we will
face a real crisis.
Humankind wants the advantages that an industrial society can give to all of its
citizens. We essentially rely on energy, but the level of consumption varies vastly in
different parts of the world (industrialized versus developing and underdeveloped
countries). At present for example, the annual oil consumption per capita in China
is still only two to three barrels, whereas it is about ten-fold this level in the United
States [2]. Chinas oil use is expected to at least double during the next decade, and

this alone equals roughly the United States consumption – reminding us of the size
of the problem that we will face. Not only the world population growth but also the
increasing energy demands from China, India and other developing countries is
already putting great pressure on the worlds oil reserves, and this in turn contributes
to price escalation. Large price fluctuations, with temporary sharp drops, can be
expected, but the upward long-term trend in oil prices is inevitable.
Table 1.5 Proven oil and natural gas reserves (in billion tonnes oil equivalent).
Year Oil Natural gas
1960 43 15
1965 50 22
1970 78 33
1975 87 55
1980 91 70
1986 95 87
1987 121 91
1988 124 95
1989 137 96
1990 137 108
1995 140 130
2002 160 160
2003 162 162
2004 162 161
2005 164 162
2006 165 163
Source for 1995–2006: BP Statistical Review of World Energy [2].
1 Introduction
j
5
Even though the generation of energy by massive burning of non-renewable fossil
fuels (including oil, gas and coal) is feasible only for a relatively short period in the

future, it is generating serious environmental problems (vide infra). The advent of
atomic energy opened up a fundamental new possibility, but also created dangers and
concerns regarding the safety of radioactive by-products. Regrettably, these con-
siderations brought any further development of atomic energy almost to a standstill,
at least in most of the Western world. Whether we like it or not, we clearly have
few alternatives and will rely on using nuclear energy, albeit making it safer and
cleaner. Problems, including those of the storage and disposal of radioactive waste
products, must be solved. Pointing out difficulties and hazards as well as regulating
them, within reason, is necessary, but solutions to overcome them are essential and
certainly feasible.
As we continue to burnourhydrocarbonreservestogenerateenergyatan alarming
rate, diminishing resources and sharp price increases will inevitably lead to the need
to supplement or replace them by feasible alternatives. Alternative energy and fuel
sources and synthetic oil products are, however, more costly. Natures petroleum oil
and natural gas are the greatest gifts we will ever have. However, with a barrel of oil
presently priced between $30 and $150, within wide market fluctuations, some
synthetic manufacturing processes are already becoming economically viable.
Regardless, it is clear that we will need to get used to higher prices, not as a matter
of any government policy but as a fact of market forces over which free societies have
limited control.
Synthetic oil products are feasible. Their production was proven via synthesis-gas
(syn-gas), a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen obtained from the incom-
plete combustion of coal or natural gas, which, however, are themselves non-
renewable. Coal conversion was used in Germany during World War II and in
South Africa during the boycott years of the Apartheid era [9]. Nevertheless, the size
of these operations hardly amounted to 0.3% of the present United States
consumption alone. This route – the so-called Fischer–Tropsch synthesis – is also
highly energy consuming, giving complex product mixtures and generating large
amounts of carbon dioxide, thereby contributing to global warming. It thus can
hardly be seen on its own as the technology of the future. To utilize still-existing

large natural gas reserves, their conversion into liquid fuels through syn-gas is
presently being developed; for example, on a large scale in Qatar, where Shell is
spending over $10 billion on the construction of gas-to-liquid (GTL) facilities, to
produce about 140 000 barrels per day of liquid hydrocarbon products, mainly
sulfur-free diesel fuel. Chevron in partnership with Sasol has already built a GTL
unit in Qatar with a capacity of 34 000 barrels per day. However, even when running
at full capacity, these plants will provide only a daily total of some 180 000 barrels,
compared with present world use of transportation fuels alone in excess of 45
million barrels per day. These figures demonstrate the enormity of the problem that
we face. New and more efficient processes are clearly needed. Some of the required
basic science and technology is already being developed. As will be discussed below,
still abundant natural gas can be, for example, directly converted, without first
producing syn-gas, into gasoline or hydrocarbon products. Using our even larger
6
j
1 Introduction
coal resources to produce synthetic oil could extend its availability, but new
approaches based on renewable resources are essential for the future. The devel-
opment of biofuels, primarily by the fermentative conversion of agricultural
products (derived from sugar cane, corn, etc.) into ethanol is evolving. Whereas
ethanol can be used as a gasoline additive or alternative fuel, the enormous
amounts of transportation fuel needed clearly limits the applicability to specific
countries and situations. Other plant-based oils are also being developed as
renewable equivalents of diesel fuel, although their role in the total energy picture
is again limited. Biofuels have also started to affect food prices by competing for the
same agricultural resources [10].
When hydrocarbons are burned, as pointed out, they produce carbon dioxide (CO
2
)
and water (H

2
O). It is a great challenge to reverse this process and to chemically
produce, efficiently and economically, hydrocarbon fuels from CO
2
and H
2
O. Nature,
in its process of photosynthesis, recycles CO
2
with water into new plant life using
the Suns energy. While fermentation and other processes can convert plant life
into biofuels and products, the natural formation of new fossil fuels takes a very long
time, making them non-renewable on the human timescale.
The Methanol Economy
Ò
 [11] – the subject of our book – elaborates a new
approach of how humankind can decrease and eventually liberate itself from its
dependence on diminishing oil and natural gas (and even coal) reserves while
mitigating global warming caused by the carbon dioxide released by their excessive
combustion. The Methanol Economy is in part based on the more efficient direct
conversion of still-existing natural gas resources into methanol or dimethyl ether,
and most importantly on their production by chemical recycling of CO
2
from the
exhaust gases of fossil fuel-burning power plants as well as other industrial and
natural sources. Eventually, even atmospheric CO
2
itself can be captured and recycled
using catalytic or electrochemical methods. This represents a chemical regenerative
carbon cycle alternative to natural photosynthesis [12]. Methanol and dimethyl

ether (DME) are both excellent transportation and industrial fuels on their own for
internal combustion engines and household uses, replacing gasoline, diesel fuel and
natural gas. Methanol is also a suitable fuel for fuel cells, being capable of producing
electric energy by reaction with atmospheric oxygen contained in the air. It should,
however, be emphasized that the Methanol Economy per se is notproducing energy.
In the form of methanol or DME it only stores energy more conveniently and safely
compared to extremely difficult to handle and highly volatile alternative hydrogen
gas, which is the basis of the so-called hydrogen economy [13, 14]. Besides being
most convenient energy storage materials and suitable transportation fuels, meth-
anol and DME can also be catalytically converted into ethylene and/or propylene, the
building blocks of synthetic hydrocarbons and their products presently obtained
from our diminishing oil and gas resources.
The far-reaching applications of the new Methanol Economy approach clearly
have great implications and societal benefit for humankind. As mentioned, the world
is presently consuming about 85 million barrels of oil each day, and about two-thirds
as much natural gas equivalent, both being derived from our declining and non-
renewable natural sources. Oil and natural gas (as well as coal) were formed by Nature
1 Introduction
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