The economic evaluation of methanol and propylene production from natural gas at petrochemical industries in Iran

Abstract

This investigation scrutinizes the economic features and potential of propylene and methanol production from natural gas in Iran because greenhouse gas emissions released by natural gas-based production processes are lower than coal-based ones. Considering the advantage of Iran’s access to natural gas, this study evaluates and compares the economic value of different plans to complete the value chain of propylene production from natural gas and methanol in the form of four units based on three price scenarios, namely, optimistic, realistic, and pessimistic, using the COMFAR III software. Iran has been ranked as the second most prosperous country globally based on its natural gas reserves. Methanol and propylene production processes via natural gas will lower the release of greenhouse gas. This, increasing the investment and accelerating the development of methanol and propylene production units driven by natural gas will lead the world to a low emission future compared to coal-based plants. The economic evaluation and sensitivity analysis results revealed that the conversion of methanol to propylene is more attractive for investment than the sale of crude methanol. The development of methanol to propylene units is more economical than constructing a new gas to propylene unit because of the lower investment costs.