HyMelt® Technology
About HyMelt® Technology
The centerpiece of the HyMelt® process is a gasification vessel that utilizes molten iron as a reaction medium, providing almost instantaneous heat transfer. HyMelt® indicates substantially lower capital and operating costs, reduced CO2 output, and greater operating flexibility and efficiency. It is expected to be capable of gasifying coal and other carbon-bearing feedstocks, such as biomass, with greater efficiency than current technologies (see “Process Advantages” ).
HyMelt® is anticipated to revolutionize gasification, substantially lowering costs for syngas and the products that can be made therefrom. Market penetration of syngas-based fuels and chemicals such as Fischer-Tropsch diesel, jet fuel and naphtha; ammonia; methanol and dimethyl ether; ethanol (from syngas); hydrogen, and natural gas substitutes, will be accelerated because of lower cost syngas. IGCC costs can be reduced as well.
HyMelt® also suggest the potential to make gasification facilities economic at a much smaller scale. Lower costs will also allow smaller gasification plants to be built, multiplying the economic applications and further accelerating market penetration. The implications of this are especially exciting in the biomass, refinery, and industrial heat sectors. Greater market penetration of gasification will yield not only economic benefits, but also great environmental gains. Gasification is a technology that allows the economic capture of pollutants and CO2.
The following partial list of applications for a more efficient gasifier demonstrates the global significance of this new technology
- Lower cost coal-to-liquids alternative fuels
- Lower cost biomass-to-liquids fuels
- Lower cost hydrogen for refineries, ammonia synthesis, vehicles, etc.
- Lower cost methanol for chemical feedstocks, fuel, etc.
- Lower cost natural gas substitutes for industrial and commercial users
- Lower cost IGCC electricity