The Netherlands – Two of the largest off-grid energy providers, Dimeta and Enerkem, the first company in the world to commercially produce bio-methanol from mixed waste, are starting feasibility studies for the development of two large-scale projects that will convert waste into renewable and recycled carbon dimethyl ether (DME).
DME is a fuel with a clean burn that can help the off-grid energy sector, including heating, cooking, transportation, and industrial uses, decarbonize. Due to its chemical similarity to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), DME can be mixed with it up to 20% and ‘dropped-in’ to existing LPG supply chains, offering a smooth route to decreasing emissions from the more than 200 million tonnes of LPG used for energy each year globally.
FEED
Each project is estimated to create about 165,000 tonnes of renewable and recycled carbon DME year from mixed residual garbage, and the plants are expected to be placed in Northwest Europe and along the US Gulf Coast. When blended with LPG, the DME generated by the two projects would have the effect of dramatically lowering the carbon footprint of more than one million LPG-heated houses.
Pre-feasibility studies for these projects were successfully finished in recent months by Dimeta and Enerkem, and they are now proceeding into the feasibility stage with a goal of starting front end engineering and design (FEED) early the following year.
