About Methanol
The global demand for methanol is around 38 million tones a year of which approximately 2 percent is supplied from Equatorial Guinea, a significant contribution from a single plant. Product is shipped to Europe and the United States.
Methanol is a highly versatile chemical used as an intermediate in the manufacture of countless everyday products. These include adhesive resins for plywood and similar construction materials, polyester fibers and packaging, plastics, paints, coatings, fuels and fuel additives.
AMPCO is a recognized leader in the methanol industry and board member for the Methanol Institute, a global trade organization for methanol. As a primary alcohol, methanol is a basic building block for many other petrochemicals and products used in our everyday lives. The following illustration is provided by the Methanol Institute.
Methanol is the simplest member of a group of organic chemicals called alcohols. In outline, methanol is made by mixing natural gas with steam, heating this to 900°C and passing the mixture over a nickel catalyst in a steam reformer. The gas/steam mixture is transformed to produce "synthesis gas” which is pressurized, converted to methanol over a copper catalyst and distilled to yield pure methanol. A simplified schematic of the AMPCO plant is shown below.
