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Lurgi to construct pilot methanol-to-biofuel plant

2nd May, 2008

Germany-based chemical and EPC company Lurgi will construct an $8 million (€5.2 million) pilot plant in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, that will convert methanol to synthetic biofuel.

The project is supported by the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, as an experiment into alternatives to the Fischer Tropsch synthesis.

The Fischer Tropsch process is a catalysed chemical reaction in which carbon monoxide and hydrogen are converted into liquid hydrocarbons, producing a synthetic petrol substitute.

Lurgi constructs biodiesel plants designed for capacities of between 40,000 and 500,000 tonnes a year on a turnkey basis.