Stranded methane in waste streams and flare gases at remote processing sites is a promising untapped resource. Now, with a new modular technology, companies can take advantage of this hydrocarbon-containing stream while also reducing their methane emissions. M2X Energy (Rockledge, Fla.; ) has developed a transportable production unit that converts stranded methane-rich gases into low-carbon methanol. “M2X Energy’s system is a ‘chemical plant on wheels’ that takes, as its target feedstock, the methane-rich gas typically derived from waste streams from various industries. The transportability of our units allows a streamlined process that provides a minimally invasive and economically advantageous outlet for these waste gases,” says Edwin Yik, principal engineer at M2X Energy.

At the heart of the unit (diagram) is a patented engine-reformer technology that transforms the feed gas into synthesis gas (syngas) via non-catalytic partial oxidation. “This syngas intermediate is then compressed to pressures conducive for catalytic methanol synthesis. A boiling-water reactor, containing a fixed-catalyst bed, then converts this compressed syngas into crude methanol via CO and CO ₂ hydrogenation chemistries,” explains Yik. By creatively adapting a conventional internal-combustion engine, the technology boasts low operating expenses and the ability to readily accept the variations in inlet gas flows and compositions that can occur in industrial waste-gas streams.

The methanol produced in field tests exhibited over 95% purity across a wide range of inlet gas-feed compositions, and the unit is designed to handle trace contaminants, such as hydrogen sulfide, which may negatively impact the catalytic process. A commercial-scale, full-system modular unit was commissioned in 2023, which has been deployed and tested at sites in North Carolina and North Dakota, and the core engine-reformer technology has been further validated on a diverse range of feed gases at oil-and-gas sites in Texas and Oklahoma. The next phase of development will build upon these trials to further improve process performance, including a new joint-development partnership with global manufacturer SCG Chemicals plc (Bangkok, Thailand) to further optimize the catalytic methanol-synthesis steps of the process.