Mitsubishi order for large-scale CO2 Recovery plant from Qatar to increased methanol production

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has received an order for a large-scale carbon dioxide (CO2) recovery plant for Qatar Fuel Additives Co., Ltd. (QAFAC), a major fuel additive producer in Qatar, through "MHI Industrial Engineering & Services Private Ltd. (MIES)", an MHI engineering business affiliate headquartered in Singapore. The CO2, which is to be recovered at up to 500 tons per day (tpd) - one of the world's largest CO2 capture capacities, will be used to increase production of methanol. The event marks the first overseas order for an MHI CO2 recovery plant specifically targeted at raising methanol production. Construction of the plant is slated for completion in October 2014. The CO2 recovery plant, which will be built within QAFAC's methanol production plant near Doha, Qatar's capital city, will capture CO2 from combustion exhaust gas emitted in the methanol production process. The CO2 separated and recovered from the flue gas using MHI's proprietary KS-1(TM) solvent will be provided as feedstock for boosting methanol production. In conjunction with plant order, MHI will license its CO2 recovery technology to QAFAC through MIES. MIES will be responsible for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), and Mitsubishi Corporation will handle the trade particulars. QAFAC produces methanol and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). MIES, established in October 2010, mainly provides engineering, marketing and services relating to environmental protection and chemical plants. The order from QAFAC marks its first EPC order. MHI's CO2 recovery technology is known as the KM CDR Process ®. It uses the company's proprietary KS-1 solvent for CO2 absorption and desorption, which MHI and Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. developed jointly. MHI's technology features considerably lower energy consumption compared with other processes, winning it high evaluations from the market for its performance. To date MHI has delivered nine commercial CO2 recovery plants in Japan and other countries, and another plant is currently under construction - a track record that makes MHI a leader in the industry. In addition to urea and methanol production, CO2 recovery technology can be employed in other chemical applications such as production of dimethyl ether (DME). Other important applications possible are carbon capture and storage (CCS) and enhanced oil recovery (EOR). CCS is used to capture CO2 from flue gas from plants, including thermal power generation plants, and sequester CO2 in deep subsurfaces such as brine aquifers as a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. EOR is employed to boost crude oil production; the CO2 is injected into an oil reservoir suffering from low productivity.