Pinch Analysis of Methane Derived Methanol Plant Using HINT Software

Abstract

Methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas which contributes to the pressing global warming issue in the world. Methanol derived from methane was one of the solutions to prevent the escalating greenhouse effect. However, the process was energy intensive and hence pinch technology was used to optimize the heat efficiency in the process. This study aims to determine the optimum ΔTmin indicated with lowest total cost via HINT software. Results shown that the optimum heat exchanger configuration was obtained by network with ΔTmin 10 K, with minimum operating and capital cost of $2,729,590/year and $579,129,590/year respectively.