Medicine Bow Methanol Project, Carbon County, Wyoming, USA

The Medicine Bow methanol project is part of a coal-to-liquid fuels initiative being undertaken by the Medicine Bow Fuel & Power LLC (MBF&P), a subsidiary of DKRW Advanced Fuels LLC. The new methanol synthesis unit will be situated at a Greenfield site near a producing mine mouth in Carbon County, Wyoming. The low-sulphur coal feedstock will be used to produce both methanol and gasoline via synthesis gas and Fisher Tropsch type process technology.

Medicine Bow Fuel is also developing other coal to liquids and diesel facilities in the same area as part of the project as there is an abundance of economically mined low sulphur coal as feedstock. An 11,000 barrel per day (bpd) coal-to-ultra-clean diesel unit has been under development since 2006 and is due to begin producing in fourth quarter of 2010. Construction began in late 2007 and there is an eventual plan to expand to 40,000bpd.

DKRW Advanced Fuels is a process development-stage hydrocarbon conversion company, which is focused on the commercial development and operation of facilities to convert low value hydrocarbons into upgraded fuel and chemical products that have previously been produced by crude oil. The coal feedstock is being provided by Arch Coal who is a shareholder of DKRW Advanced Fuels and an advocate for coal to liquid fuel technologies.

PROCESS TECHNOLOGY

The new Wyoming methanol plant is expected to be producing 6,260t per day when it comes on-stream in 2010. The advanced methanol process technology for the new plant is being supplied by Davy Process Technology and Johnson Matthey Catalysts; both companies are part of the Process Technologies Business of Johnson Matthey. The project includes the supply of a methanol technology licence and the basic engineering design of the plant. The new plant will transform carbon basin coal into methanol and then into clean gasoline for the US domestic market.

METHANOL TO GASOLINE

In December 2007 Medicine Bow Fuel and Power contracted Exxon Mobil Corporation to use their proprietary Methanol to Gasoline (MTG) process technology to work in conjunction with the methanol plant to produce high grade gasoline from the crude methanol produced. The new 15,000bpd unit will be based on the proven MTG process technology which has been used for the last 20 years.

The MTG process will convert the methanol produced directly into low sulphur and low benzene gasoline. This can then be marketed directly or blended with refinery produced gasoline. The gasoline will inherently have low emissions of SOx and NOx because of its synthetic process origins. The technology is being adapted for the Medicine Bow project by EMRE the research and engineering arm of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

COAL TO DIESEL PROJECT

This part of the project is already underway in Carbon County and will use technology from several providers including: GE Infrastructure Technology LLC patented and proprietary coal gasification technology and Rentech, Inc of Denver Fischer Tropsch technology.

The diesel produced will be taken and marketed by Sinclair Oil Corporation.

There will be a surplus of clean power produced at the plant, amounting to around 45MW in the initial phases and this will be sold to local electricity suppliers. Carbon dioxide will be sequestered via pipeline, sulphur will be solidified and sold to the agricultural market, hydrogen may also be produced from surplus syn gas.

Jon Doyle, a DKRW partner, commented: "DKRW's business focus is to utilise the world's abundant coal reserves along with key technologies to produce new, reliable and more environmentally friendly energy supplies. We have multiple opportunities and the expertise which will enable us to become a leader in the coal-to-liquids industry within the next five years."