Synthesis Energy to Build Coal-to-Methanol Project in China

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Synthesis Energy Systems Incorporated (Houston, Texas) recently announced a joint venture with a major multinational chemical company in China where the companies will build a coal-to-methanol gasification plant. A Project Development Agreement was signed, and feasibility studies on further potential development are being conducted. The project's site has not been decided.

The project will support the factories of Synthesis Energy's joint-venture partner and will help the region meet its growing demand for clean petrochemical materials. Synthesis Energy's exclusive U-GAS(r) coal gasification technology allows for the low-cost capture of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide. It will be utilized in the project, which shows the company's leading position and commitment to environmentally responsible industrial solutions.

Through the technology, coal is converted to a syngas, which is further refined into methanol. The plant's production capacity of syngas would be as large as the sum of the company's other coal-to-chemical projects in China. Tim Vail, President and Chief Executive Officer of Synthesis Energy, said the project will serve to strengthen China's energy security as its methanol demand is growing. A China Methanol Industry Forecast by C&G Consulting shows that China's methanol market reached nearly 8.2 million metric tons in 2006.

Synthesis Energy announced in January that it started initial production of syngas at its first coal-turned methanol gasification plant in Weifang in eastern China's Shandong Province. The plant is designed to produce 672,000 cubic meters of syngas.

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