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2025/09/06 11:16 AM
DMTO Technology: Transforming the Global Olefins Landscape


We are pleased to share a new ppPLUS resource detailing the DMTO (Methanol-to-Olefins) technology, developed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) and their partners.

Light olefins—ethylene and propylene—are the building blocks for countless modern products: plastics, synthetic rubbers, fibers, and more. Traditionally, these are produced by steam cracking of naphtha or other oil-derived feedstocks. As the world looks for greater energy and feedstock security and sustainability, MTO technology stands out by enabling the direct production of olefins from methanol, which can be synthesized from coal, natural gas, biomass, or captured CO₂.

DMTO: The World’s Leading Technology

The DMTO process, pioneered and continuously advanced by DICP, is the world’s foremost MTO technology in terms of scale, efficiency, and impact:

🔵 Innovation Leadership: DICP’s breakthroughs—including the landmark SAPO-34 catalyst and fluidized bed reactor system—opened a practical, competitive route from methanol (coal-based or otherwise) to olefins.

🔵 Industrial Scale: By 2020, over 8 million tonnes of annual olefin capacity in China had been built on DMTO and DMTO-II plants, with more than 26 global licenses issued.

🔵 Process Evolution: Third-generation (DMTO-III) plants achieve record selectivity (85-90%) for ethylene and propylene and further reduce methanol consumption per tonne of olefins produced.

🔵 Integrated Upgrades: The process can incorporate C₄ conversion (achieving higher yields and better energy balances) and has led to “Methanol-to-Propylene” variants to answer evolving market needs.

Strategic Impact: Unlocking Coal and De-Risking Energy Supply

For China and other coal-rich countries, DMTO allows the transformation of abundant coal resources into high-value chemicals—drastically reducing reliance on imported oil and gas.

🔵 It supports national economic security, local jobs, and value-added industry around coal conversion.

🔵 The technology also provides a platform to transition towards cleaner methanol sources (biomass, CCUS), future-proofing the olefins sector.

Learn More and Connect

The deployment of DMTO is one of the defining success stories of applied catalysis and process engineering in the 21st century.

For anyone interested in the intersection of energy, chemicals, and strategic resource management, DMTO offers a robust, proven solution with international relevance.

Discover details, process fundamentals, historical milestones, and technology generations in this dedicated ppPLUS resource.

Let’s connect and discuss how methanol-to-olefins and related technologies are shaping the future of the global chemicals industry.

#mto #dmto #coaltochemicals #coaltoolefins #sinopec #honeywell #kbr #dalianinstituteofchemicalphysics #chineseacademyofsciences #china #dicp

2025/09/03 05:53 AM
New Update: Methanol-to-Olefins (MTO) Technology Deep Dive



🚀 We've published a comprehensive assessment of MTO/DMTO technologies on ppPLUS, covering the complete value chain from coal gasification through polymer-grade olefins production.

🔬 Key Technical Insights:
✅ Detailed reactor design (fluidized-bed at 400-450°C, 3 bar)
✅ Process optimization including methanol + steam co-feeding for catalyst stability
✅ Complex product recovery requiring cryogenic separation (-90°C demethanizer)
✅ Comprehensive market analysis showing China's dominance (24 commercial plants up to March 2021)

📊 Technology Landscape (up to March 2021):
🟢 DMTO (DICP/Sinopec): 68.6% global market share, 15.25 MMTA capacity
🟢 UOP/Hydro-MTO: 15.8% market share, proven alternative
🟢 Sinopec S-MTO: 15.6% market share, growing presence

The assessment includes detailed process flowsheets, economic considerations, and real-world applications from Shenhua Baotou to the latest mega-projects like Inner Mongolia Baofeng's 3 Mt/y facility.

Essential reading for anyone involved in coal-to-chemicals, methanol upgrading, or olefins production planning.

#mto #dmto #coaltochemicals #coaltoolefins #sinopec #honeywell #uop #kbr #dicp #dalianInstituteofchemicalphysics #chineseacademyofsciences #china #methanoltoolefins

2025/03/16 12:35 PM
DICP Methanol-to-Olefins Technology (DMTO) description completed.
2025/03/16 09:40 AM
Methanol-to-Olefins (MTO) process description
2025/03/16 06:00 AM
List of Technologies operating, in construction phase, and in project phase

TECHNOLOGIE ALREADY OPERATING

Coal Gasification
▪️Startup Date: August 2015 (Phase I), July 2021 (Phase II)
▪️Plant Capacity: Supports total methanol production of 2×1.8 million tons/year
▪️Technology Provider: Yanchang Petroleum (integrated proprietary technology)
▪️Feedstock: Coal
▪️Products: Synthesis gas (syngas)

Natural Gas Steam Reforming
▪️Startup Date: August 2015 (Phase I), July 2021 (Phase II)
▪️Capacity: Integrated into methanol production capacity
▪️Provider: Proprietary integrated technology by Yanchang Petroleum
▪️Feedstock: Natural gas
▪️Products: Synthesis gas (syngas)

Rectisol Gas Cleaning
▪️Startup Date: August 2015 (Phase I), July 2021 (Phase II)
▪️Capacity: Integrated into methanol production capacity
▪️Provider: Proprietary integrated technology
▪️Feedstock: Raw syngas from coal gasification and natural gas reforming
▪️Products: Purified syngas for methanol synthesis

Methanol Synthesis
▪️Startup Date: August 2015 (Phase I), July 2021 (Phase II)
▪️Capacity: 2×1.8 million tons/year
▪️Provider: Yanchang Petroleum proprietary integrated technology
▪️Feedstock: Purified syngas (coal-based and natural gas-based mixed syngas), DCC hydrogen-rich gas
▪️Products: MTO-grade Methanol

Methanol to Olefins (DMTO)
▪️Startup Date: August 2015 (Phase I), July 2021 (Phase II)
▪️Capacity: 2×600,000 tons/year
▪️Provider: Proprietary DMTO technology
▪️Feedstock: Methanol
▪️Products: Ethylene, Propylene

Residual Oil Catalytic Thermal Cracking (DCC)
▪️Startup Date: August 2015
▪️Capacity: 1.5 million tons/year
▪️Provider: Institute of Petroleum Technology (Double riser technology)
▪️Feedstock: Residual oil
▪️Products: Olefins, Naphtha, Light Diesel

Veba Combi Cracking (VCC) Plant
▪️Startup Date: Operational since 2015
▪️Capacity: 450,000 tons/year
▪️Provider: KBR/BP alliance
▪️Feedstock: FCC slurry oil and coal slurry
▪️Products Made: Naphtha, ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD)

Polyolefin Units
▪️6 sets of polyolefin units (operating or scheduled) totaling 1.9 million tons/year.
▪️High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE): 300,000 tons/year
▪️Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE):300,000 tons/year
▪️Polypropylene (PP): 600,000 tons/year

Near-zero Wastewater Discharge System
▪️First phase started July,20,2014; upgraded in October,2020.
▪️Capacity: Phase I initial design scale 876m3/h –
Phase I expansion to 1300m3/h▪️Feedstock: Industrial wastewater, domestic sewage, rainwater
▪️Products Made: Recycled water, sodium sulfate salt, sodium chloride salt

TECHNOLOGIES CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION OR IN PROJECT PHASE

Naphtha and Light Diesel Comprehensive Utilization Project
▪️Estimated Startup Date: End of March,2024
▪️Plant Capacity: Naphtha hydrorefining unit – 250,000 tons/year, Light diesel hydrorefining unit – 200,000 tons/year, Olefin raw material refining unit – 250,000 tons/year, Heavy aromatics adsorption separation unit – 200,000 tons/year.
▪️Technology Provider: Heavy aromatics adsorption separation technology provided by CNOOC Tianjin Chemical Research and Design Institute Co., Ltd.
▪️Feedstock: Naphtha and light diesel produced as by-products from DCC unit.
▪️Products Made: Benzene, toluene, mixed xylenes, aromatics.

Low Density Polyethylene and Copolymer Plant
▪️Startup Date: License secured September 24, 2024.
▪️Capacity: 150,000 tons/year.
▪️Technology Provider: ECI Group
▪️Technology: Proprietary hybrid reactor high-pressure polymerization technology developed from ICI autoclave technology.
▪️Feedstock: Ethylene with co-monomers such as vinyl acetate (for EVA) and butyl acrylate (for EBA).
▪️Products Made: LDPE (packaging films, coatings), EVA (adhesives, solar encapsulants), and EBA (sealants, specialty applications).

Methanol Gasification Slag Comprehensive Utilization Project
(No explicit startup date provided)

MTBE Unit Low-temperature Heat Utilization Project
(In progress; no explicit startup date provided)

Coal Gasification Conversion Condensate Environmental Protection Comprehensive Management Project
(Currently in project/research stage; no specific startup date provided.)

Methane Conversion Air Preheater Upgrade Energy-saving Project
(Currently in project/research stage; no specific startup date provided.)

Photovoltaic Power Generation Project
(Currently in project/research stage; no specific startup date provided.)

Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Demonstration Project
(Currently under development; no explicit startup date provided.)
▪️Plant Capacity: 360,000 tons/year CO₂ capture and storage
▪️Technology Provider: Proprietary CCUS technology developed by Yanchang Petroleum Group.
▪️Feedstock: CO₂ emissions from coal chemical enterprises.
▪️Products Made: Enhanced oil recovery through CO₂ flooding and underground storage.

ADDITIONAL RELEVANT TECHNOLOGIES MENTIONED BUT WITHOUT EXPLICIT OPERATIONAL STATUS OR DATES PROVIDED

These technologies are mentioned as part of the company's comprehensive utilization strategy or future plans without clear operational status or startup dates explicitly indicated:

C4 Mix to Olefin Conversion Unit (OCU) (mentioned implicitly as part of the olefin downstream processing chain)

C5 Mix Recycling (implied as part of comprehensive utilization but not explicitly detailed with dates or capacities.)

Coal-Methane Co-gasification Technology (mentioned as a future planned project without explicit details on dates or capacities.)

Propane and Isobutane Dehydrogenation for Acrylic Acid and Esters Production (mentioned as planned projects without explicit details on dates or capacities.)


#coaltoolefins #gasification #methanol #dmto #methanoltoolefins #dcc #fcc #catalyticcracking #vcc #vebacombicracking #polyolefins #netzero #mtbe #sustainability #ccus #ocu #olefinconversionunit

2024/11/21 07:20 AM
Placeholder for SYN® DMTO® (DICP) technology added.
2024/11/21 07:13 AM
SYN Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (DICP) added.