One of the general objectives pursued by Italy is to accelerate the decarbonization process, considering 2030 as an intermediate step, towards a profound decarbonization by 2050. This is what the Italian Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate hows for a real transformation of the economy, where the decarbonization and the rational and equitable use of natural resources are both objectives and tools for an economy more respectful of people and the entire environment.

However, it is not just a matter of replacing fossil fuels with renewable sources, but a real revolution in the way of producing, economizing and how to use the produced energy.

Producing energy with the lowest carbon impact is the challenge that each Company is called on to take. MethaNet chose to invest in continuous scientific and technological innovation, which allows to consolidate and enrich the know-how, contributing to the training of skills and technological evolution.

MethaNet is projecting itself to the challenge of an new green-sustainable energy scenario in complete transition, where the goal is not only to develop new technologies, but speed-up their implementation, keeping a focus on decarbonization, circular economy and renewable energy.

Our goal is to create a model of industrial transition, where energy needs are made more sustainable and respectful of the environment around us.

TECHNOLOGICAL PROCESS

MethaNet uses an innovative technology that expect to capture carbon dioxide and its subsequent transformation into methanol through hydrogen, generating a circular process that limits the release of additional carbon dioxide into the air.

The technology process allows the transformation of hydrogen and carbon dioxide emissions into methanol to produce fuel, chemicals and greener products.

Hydrogen can come from water electrolysis, from the use of renewable electricity sources or from non-recoverable industrial exhaust gases; carbon dioxide can originate from any suitable source, or it can be captured and purified in an economical way.

The technology consists of the five process modules as follows:

1. CO₂ capture and cleaning – Exhaust gases are captured from emission points and cleaned of impurities to produce CO₂ suitable for methanol synthesis. CO₂ is available in abundance and in high concentration in many industrial processes and thermal power stations.
2. Hydrogen generation – Hydrogen can be generated by electrolysis of water or processed by hydrogen as a by-product available in some industrial waste streams.
3. Compression – The reaction gas is prepared by mixing H₂ and CO₂.
4. Synthesis of methanol – After obtaining a sufficient mixture of concentrate and purity, it is necessary to convert the gas into raw methanol.
5. Methanol purification – Raw methanol is separated into methanol (at design purity/quality) and water for reuse or disposal.

The technological process was developed to satisfy the growing demand, for synthetic, renewable and sustainable fuels by industry and transport. In addition to the environmental benefits from the use of CO₂ as a raw material to produce methanol, there are also large technical advantages:

• Efficient Conversion – Reaction conditions allow less by-products formation and thus ensures reduced energy consumption.
• Ability to follow the load – The reaction system allows high operational flexibility by responding quickly to changes in the raw material or energy supply available.
• Applicability to heterogeneous sources of raw materials – Units plant are customized to reflect the availability of raw materials and adapt to different sources of CO₂ and hydrogen.
• System adaptability – The process uses modular equipment that ensures quality, easy installation, fast time-to-market, replicability, and large-scale costs reduction.
• Safety in Operation – Throughout the process, the risk of releasing uncontrolled heat and toxic composites in the environment is reduced to a minimum. Further, since methanol is a biodegradable composite and highly volatile, it does not represent a significant danger to public safety.