TOYO DME TECHNOLOGY
Substitute for LPG and Diesel

Clean fuel production through indirect process
utilizing commercially proven TOYO methanol
synthesis process
TOYO DME Technology Concept
Toyo Engineering Corporation (TOYO) developed indirect
Di-Methyl Ether (DME) production technology consisting ofsynthesis gas generation, methanol synthesis and DME synthesis
processes. DME has been used as clean fuel substituting LPG
emitting virtually no sulfur oxide or particle matters. With its highcetane number and extremely low toxicity, the uses for power
plant fuel and diesel alternative are also expected. DME can also
be feedstock for olefins and gasoline production as well as hydrogen source for fuel cell.
Key features of TOYO DME Technology concept are ;▶
Simple DME synthesis process, lower investment cost▶
Production ratio flexibility of methanol (0 - 100 %) and DME(100 - 0 %) on market demand▶
Commercially proven combination of methanol synthesis
and DME synthesis▶
DME synthesis unit easily installed beside the existing methanol plant▶
No carbon dioxide produced in DME synthesis process
TOYO’s commercially proven large scale methanol production
process enables the operators to convert any methane rich resources to transportable, clean and high value liquid, DME. In
addition, plant operators can choose preferred DME/methanol
production ratio which suits market demand.

Chemical Reactions
Regardless of the chemical reaction route, i.e., direct or indirect,
the process to produce DME from natural gas feedstock is madeup of the reactions to reform raw material methane into synthesis gas mainly composed of CO+H2+CO2 using steam or oxygenas oxidant and to generate methanol from the synthesis gas as
the first step and then to dehydrate it into DME. The direct routemakes methanol synthesis reaction and DME synthesis reaction
occur in one reactor. On the other hand, the indirect route makesthese reactions in separate reactors. TOYO DME technology isemploying the indirect route composed of synthesis gas generation technology that has high reliability based on more than 100
project experiences and its unique methanol production technology.
The principle of DME production by methanol dehydration isshown below (Fig.-1).

Methane(CH4)

Syn. Gas(OC/H2/CO2): C,DME(CH3OCH3)

Methanol Dehydration

H2O or O2: H,Methanol(CH3OH):OFig.-1 : Chemistry of indirect DME production

H2O

TOYO DME TECHNOLOGY Substitute for LPG and Diesel

Process Configuration
TOYO DME Technology is the combination process of provenmethanol production technology and the simple, low cost DME
synthesis process. The process has two reaction steps. Methanol
is firstly produced from synthesis gas, and then after removing
by-product water, DME is produced via methanol dehydration
reaction.
This indirect route has a couple of advantages such as ;▶
Optimum reactor type selection▶
Reactor operation at optimum conditions for each reactionstep▶
Easy to remove reaction heat from the reactor due to lessreaction heat against the direct routeFig.-2 shows block flow diagram of TOYO DME Technology.
Methanol production : Application of the high performance MRF-Z®
reactor developed by TOYO which has the specific features of multistage indirect cooling and a radial flow to the methanol synthesis
unit enables to construct the unit with a capacity of 6,000 t/d in asingle train, while other technologies require multiple reactors.
DME production : DME synthesis based on methanol dehydration process is very simple. Dehydration catalyst is of alumina
basis available from the manufacturers approved by TOYO. Feedmethanol is fed to a DME reactor after vaporization. The synthesis pressure is 1.0 to 2.0 MPaG. The inlet temperature is 220 to250 °C and the outlet is 300 to 350 °C. Methanol conversion toDME is 75 to 80 % in the reactor. Produced DME with by-productwater and unconverted methanol is fed to a DME column after

Fuel Gas

NG Feed

Steam

Steam

Steam
Reforming

Synthesis Gas

Methanol Synthesis(MRF-Z® Reactor)

Recycle Methanol with Water

MethanolFractionation

DME
Synthesis

Typical Plant Performance
Typical plant performance of TOYO DME Technology is shown
below. This extra-large scale DME process is trademarked as
TOYO JumboDME® plant, maximum single train process including
Steam Reformer, MRF-Z® Methanol Reactor, DME Reactor andDistillation Columns.
Plant Capacity

3,500 t/d

NG Consumption

163 MMSCFD (4.37 mmNm3/d)

Raw water Consumption

1,100 m3/h (As make-up)

Plant Area

200m x 130 m (Process & Utilities)
150m x 60m (DME storage tank)Commercially Proven Process
TOYO has been awarded and completed four licensing and engineering contracts for DME production plants in China since 2003
as shown in the experience list.
ClientLocation

Capacity(tons/year)

Start-up

Lutianhua Group Inc.

Luzhou,Sichuan

10,0002003

Lutianhua Group Inc.

Luzhou,Sichuan

110,000

2006

Shenhua Ningxia Coal Group

Lingwu,Ningxia

210,000

2007

Shanxi Lanhua Clean Energy

Jincheng,
Shanxi140,000

2008

BFW

Crude Methanol
PurgeGas

heat recovery and cooling. In the DME column DME is separated
as the light product. Water and methanol are discharged fromthe bottom and fed to a methanol column for methanol recovery. The purified methanol from the column is recycled to thereactor after mixing with feedstock methanol.

DMEFractionation

Water

DME
ProductFig.-2 : Block flow diagram of TOYO DME Technology

Toyo Engineering Corporation
2-8-1 Akanehama, Narashino-shi, Chiba 275-0024, Japan
TEL: +81-47-454-1571
FAX: +81-47-454-1164
http://www.toyo-eng.co.jp* MRF-Z®is a registered trademark of Toyo Engineering Corporation in Japan (Registered Number : 3172726).
*JumboDME®is a registered trademark of Toyo Engineering Corporation in Japan (Registered Number : 5140585).

2012.09.20①FP