Techno-economic analysis of natural gas high CO2 content for dimethyl ether production with different CO2 separation using CFZ and membrane technologies

By M Nizami and W W Purwanto | Publication, Scientific Paper

Development of the East Natuna gas field, the largest natural gas resources in Southeast Asia, is still highly challenging because of the presence of CO2, up to 72%. Reliable CO2 separation technology implementation with suitable CO2 handling methods is crucial to maximizing the field’s potential. Dimethyl ether is one of the chemical products that can be synthesized from natural gas that can be used as a substitute fuel for LPG. In this study, we compare the techno-economic analysis of natural gas high CO2 content to dimethyl ether using two schemes of CO2 separation: controlled freeze zone (CFZ) and membrane technology with CO2 sequestration. The process simulation is performed by Aspen Hysys V11 software. The results show that in technical aspect on dimethyl ether synthesis with CFZ feed gas (gas consumption of 0.0412 MMSCF/tonne-DME and 2.077 MWh/tonne-DME) is slightly better performance than synthesis process with membrane feed gas (0.043 MMSCF/tonne-DME and 2.077 MWh/tonne-DME). In an economical aspect, levelized cost of dimethyl ether production with CO2 sequestration of 556 US$/tonne-DME (CFZ) and 495 US$/tonne-DME (membrane) is higher than levelized cost without CO2 sequestration with the value of 378 US$/tonne-DME (CFZ) and 329 US$/tonne-DME (membrane).