Sustainable Production of Biomethanol and Its Environmental Impacts

Abstract

Utilizing biomass and biogas sourced from various organic waste materials as renewable feedstocks for biomethanol production offers a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum oil, and natural gas. This chapter provides an exploration of several technologies employed in biomethanol production, including biomass gasification, biomass pyrolysis, and biogas upgrading. Syngas production and conditioning, methanol synthesis and separation, and integrating systems with other renewable energy sources are found to be crucial stages towards achieving sustainable production. The chapter comprehensively evaluates the technical, economic, and environmental aspects of each biomethanol production process. Furthermore, it delves into ongoing efforts to improve and develop biomethanol-production processes to achieve the carbon neutrality goals. The chapter also outlines emerging trends and future research directions in the field of biomethanol production.