Methanol Western Europe

Methyl tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE). Methyl tert-hutyi ether [1634-04-4] is made by the etherification of isobutylane with methanol, and there are six commercially proven technologies available. These technologies have been developed by Arco, IFF, CDTECH, Phillips, Snamprogetti, and Hbls (hcensed jointly with UOP). The catalyst in all cases is an acidic ion-exchange resin. The United States has been showing considerable interest in this product. Western Europe has been manufacturing it since 1973 (ANIC in Italy and Huls in Germany). Production of MTBE in Western Europe exceeded 600,000 tons in 1990. 

Table 1.25 gives the average commercial spedficadons of diemical grade methanol. Table 1.26 lists the applications of methanol in Western Europe, the United States, Japan and the world in 1984. as well as the production, capacities and consumption for these geographic areas. Capacities are also given for 1986. ... 

The automotive windscreen de-icer and screenwash market is a significant user of methanol, ethanol and isopropanol. The alcohol present acts as a freezing point depressant. Western Europe uses 80-100ktpa of these alcohols. 

In the West the situation remains rather fluid while many downstream products remain depressed, polyolefins and other thermoplastic resins are showing continued growth, leading to increased demand for the major intermediates. 1993 saw U.S. production reach 18 7 Mt ethylene, 10 2 Mt propylene, 5 6 Mt benzene, 15 6Mt ammonia and 4 8 Mt methanol In western Europe, now including all Germany, 1993 production figures for ethylene and propylene were over 15Mt and 9Mt, respectively. 

Despite the high tonnages of petrochemicals, the chemical industry as a whole consumes rather less than 10% of available petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbons as feedstocks, with possibly a further 4-5% as fuel. For comparison, the current consumption of gasoline alone in Western Europe exceeds 120 Mt per annum, while the U.S. figure is over 300 Mt per annum. Hence, prices of individual hydrocarbon feedstocks are largely determined by other forces the most economic feedstock/route combination has frequently changed with time, and may differ in different parts of the world. Furthermore, while a specific route may be preferred for new plants, older plants for which the capital is largely written off may well remain economically viable. Finally, special situations may prompt individual solutions. For example, Rhone-Poulenc in France derive the carbon monoxide for a very modern acetic acid plant, based on Monsanto s methanol carbonylation process, from the partial... 

Almost half the 5 + Mt per annum demand for methanol in western Europe is now met by imports, but formaldehyde production requires some 2 4 Mt of this MTBE production appears to require a little over IMt methanol at present. 

In the past, Mexico was in a more or less break-even situation. Its methanol production and consumption were rather closely balanced, but occasional export availability found homes in the United States and Western Europe. In 1986, Mexico liberalized its international trade policy and allowed consumers to ne-... 

Some of the outlying Western European nations, such as the Nordic countries, Spain, and Italy, rely mostfy on methanol imports from so-called deep-sea sources. These sources are as close as Libya and the former Eastern Bloc and as far away as Saudi Arabia and New Zealand. There are preliminary plans to build a world-scale methanol plant on the western coast of Norway that would be supplied by associated gas from a new offshore crude oil platform. Since the platform has not yet been built, nor has the delivery system to the mainland, we do not anticipate this plant to come on-stream until sometime in the middle to later part of this decade. The preliminary plans call for the associated gas to be delivered to the shoreline commingled with the crude oil and separated at that point. The plans also include a world-scale MTBE plant to utilize part of this methanol production. The only other new development in methanol production in Western Europe is that, since the reunification of Germany, the Leuna Werke plant in former East Germany (now eastern Germany) falls under Western European methanol-producing capability. 

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