Methanol Africa

The first methanol bus in the world was placed in revenue service in Auckland, New Zealand in June 1981. It was a Mercedes O 305 city bus using the M 407 hGO methanol engine. This vehicle operated in revenue service for several years with mixed results. Fuel economy on an equivalent energy basis ranged from 6 to 17% mote than diesel fuel economy. Power and torque matched the diesel engine and drivers could not detect a difference. ReHabiUty and durabihty of components was a problem. Additional demonstrations took place in Berlin, Germany and in Pretoria, South Africa, both in 1982. 

Auckland Regional Authority converted two M.A.N. buses to use a cetane improver and methanol and South Africa investigated the use of methanol with a proprietary cetane improver. Eour Renault buses were converted in Tours, Erance to operate on ethanol and a cetane improver, Avocet, manufactured by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). The results of these demonstrations were also technically successfiil slightly better fuel economy was obtained on an energy basis and durabiUty issues were much less than the earlier tests using dedicated engines. 

In 1974 a 1000 t/d ammonia plant went into operation near Johaimesburg, South Africa. The lignitic (subbituminous) coal used there contains about 14% ash, 36% volatile matter, and 1% sulfur. The plant has six Koppers-Totzek low pressure, high temperature gasifiers. Refrigerated methanol (—38° C, 3.0 MPa (30 atm)) is used to remove H2S. A 58% CO mixture reacts with steam over an iron catalyst to produce H2. The carbon dioxide is removed with methanol (at —58° C and 5.2 MPa (51 atm)). Ammonia synthesis is carried out at ca 22 MPa (220 atm) (53) (see Ammonia). 

The high cost of coal handling and preparation and treatment of effluents, compounded by continuing low prices for cmde oil and natural gas, has precluded significant exploitation of coal as a feedstock for methanol. A small amount of methanol is made from coal in South Africa for local strategic reasons. Tennessee Eastman operates a 195,000-t/yr methanol plant in Tennessee based on the Texaco coal gasification process to make the methyl acetate intermediate for acetic anhydride production (15). 

The best example of the class of phenanthrene-methanols is halofantrine (66, Halfan [36167-63-2]) a dmg that is effective against chloroquine-resistant malaria and is now being evaluated in Africa. It produces temporary gastrointestinal disturbances. 

The indirect liquefaction processes include Fischer-Tropsch and coal to methanol. Both processes have operated on a commercial scale. For the past 25 years, a Fischer-Tropsch facility has operated in South Africa. Presently the South Africans are constructing an advanced and larger facility. Coal-to-methanol plants existed in the United States, but were replaced by natural gas-to-methanol facilities because it was more economical to do so. 

Countries with large domestic coal reserves, such as China and South Africa, rely primarily on coal gasification to produce synthesis gas. This synthesis gas is hydrogen deficient (M < 2) and must undergo a further water-gas shift (WGS) step to yield a C02-rich mixture [2]. Methanol synthesis from C02 and C02-rich mixtures provides special catalyst and reactor design challenges, which will be further discussed in more detail. 

South Africa. Sasol produces many products from coal-derived syngas, including ethylene, propylene, a-olefins, alcohols, and ketones. They have also increased their production of methanol, synthetic lubricants, detergent alcohols, acrylic acid and acrylates, oxo-alcohols, styrene and polystyrene, propylene oxide, and propylene glycol. 

Methanol is used in the production of synthetic fibers and plastics and can also be used as a fuel. In addition, it can be converted directly to gasoline. About half of South Africa s gasoline supply comes from methanol produced from syngas. 

The plants used for this study were collected primarily based on information provided by medicine men in East Africa, mainly in Kenya and Tanzania (3). Botanically identified plants were extracted with methanol at ambient temperatures. The extracts were first tested for their antimicrobial activity against four representative microorganisms at 100 fig/ml (4). The active extracts were then tested against more microorganisms. As a result, interestingly, the information gathered from medicine... 

---