• Clariant MegaMax® 800 catalyst was loaded in the methanol synthesis plant of National Energy Investment Group Ningxia Coal Industry Co., Ltd. in August 2018
• Excellent product performance, which can increase activity, reduce feed gas consumption and reduce by-products
• Estimated to save customers about $ 3 million per year
Shanghai, China / Munich, Germany, August 26, 2019-This is yet another success story for the MegaMax® 800. As Clariant's next-generation methanol synthesis catalyst, MegaMax® 800 has performed exceptionally well in the coal-to-liquids plant of the National Energy Investment Group Ningxia Coal Industry Co., Ltd. ("Ning Coal"). After loading and using MegaMax® 800 in August 2018, the plant in Yinchuan, Ningxia Autonomous Region, achieved 102% of its expected operating load in just two months. The fast and successful use of the new catalyst benefits from its higher productivity, which can be up to 40% higher than previous catalysts.
After a successful start, the superior performance of MegaMax® 800 can benefit Ningmei in several ways. This methanol production plant with an annual capacity of 1 million tons has significantly reduced energy and raw material costs, and at the same time, the annual consumption of fresh gas has been successfully reduced by 51 million cubic meters. These comprehensive process improvements will have a significant impact on producer costs and are currently expected to save $ 3 million annually. The plant further reports that the production of by-products such as ethanol in its crude methanol products is significantly reduced and the overall profitability of the plant will also be improved.
Although the performance of the new catalyst is excellent, it makes sense. Because MegaMax® 800 is a product specifically developed to provide higher activity and higher selectivity for methanol synthesis, it can maintain its performance even at very low reactor temperatures and pressures. Therefore, depending on the design and process of the production plant, producers' capacity can be increased by up to 10%.
Stefan Heuser, Clariant's senior vice president and general manager of the catalysts business unit, said, "As we promised, the MegaMax® 800 catalyst benefits Ningmei. We are very pleased with this. The significance of these positive results Significant, not only because Ningmei is one of China's largest producers of coal-based chemicals, but also because it is the first customer in China to adopt the Lurgi® LP methanol synthesis process using MegaMax® 800. Lane is able to provide our cooperating customers with fully compatible catalysts and technologies to maximize production efficiency and reliability. "
National Energy Investment Group Ningxia Coal Industry Co., Ltd. is China and the world's largest coal-to-chemical company. Its world-class coal-to-liquids (CTL) methanol plant has adopted the Lurgi low-pressure methanol synthesis process since 2016.