Faster switch to clean methanol needed

Industry must accelerate development of green and blue production routes as transport sector demand rises, conference speakers say

Methanol producers need to accelerate development of their capacity to supply the fuel via cleaner processes as it is still mainly produced from natural gas,  industry experts told the World Methanol Conference this week. The global industry for methanol—used as a building block in the making of plastics, paints, cosmetics and other chemicals—generates $55bn of economic activity annually, according to trade association the Methanol Institute. The chemical is also blended with conventional oil products to serve as a vehicle fuel, mostly in China. $55bn – Annual economic activity generated by methanol sector More recently, methanol has emerged as one of a number of alternative, cleaner