Modular Plant Solutions (MPS), a global engineering firm specializing in process modularization and project implementation, announced its contract to support Arbor Renewable Gas in the construction of the first-of-its-kind modularized green gasoline plant.
The Spindletop Plant, located in Beaumont, Texas, will convert woody biomass in the form of pre-commercial thinnings and forest residue into market-ready, “drop-in,” negative carbon green gasoline, helping meet a growing demand for low-carbon intensity fuels.
Modular Plant Solutions sells its first Methanol-To-GoⓇ methanol plant to Arbor Renewable Gas for use in the world’s first industrial scale green gasoline plant.
MPS will not only provide its MeOH-To-Go® (Methanol-To-Go®) modular plant for the project, but it will also project manage the engineering and technology partners for the entire plant, from procurement and construction to operation. MPS’ modularization process and patent-pending ISO frame-based modular design for the plant will streamline transportation of plant components, making it easier to assemble and minimizing construction issues.
“Being part of the production of this innovative modular green gasoline plant is a pivotal moment for the future of renewable fuel in the U.S. and for our company, especially as world events are putting a spotlight on fuel supplies,” said Russell Hillenburg, president and co-founder of MPS. “The way we’ve designed our Methanol-To-Go® modular plant allows customers to modify the feedstock for methanol production based on the resources they have on hand.”
The Arbor Renewable Gas plant components include front-end gasification technology using woody biomass as a feedstock, followed by MPS’ MeOH-To-Go® plant to convert syngas to methanol using Haldor Topsoe’s methanol synthesis technology. The last stage of production employs Haldor Topsoe’s TIGAS™ gasoline synthesis technology, resulting in an output of “drop-in” renewable biofuel that meets the stringent quality specifications for California fuels, as well as the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, adopted by states such as California, with Oregon, the European Union and British Columbia following similar standards.
“We are excited to be working with the team at MPS to bring our vision to life: producing cost-effective, safe and reliably sourced woody biomass-to-renewable gasoline,” said Timothy Vail, president and CEO of Arbor Renewable Gas. “In the future, MPS’ plants, expertise and modularization design approach will allow Arbor to expand our operations and bring more renewable gasoline plants online on a cost and schedule effective basis.”
Because MeOH-To-Go® was designed to allow for a variety of front-end feedstock options and technology processes, as well as back-end add-on technology processes, customers can change inputs and outputs to achieve various goals depending on their needs. The plant for Arbor Renewable Gas’ Spindletop project will use woody biomass as feedstock, converted via gasification to synthesis gas. Other feedstock options for MeOH-To-Go® plants include various compositions of syngas or natural gas that are converted to AA grade methanol, a basic building block in the production of several chemical derivatives.
MPS has two other plant options in the design phase: DME-To-Go®, an add-on option for MeOH-To-Go® plants to produce Dimethyl Ether (DME), a clean burning alternative diesel fuel, as well as Gasoline-To-Go™, a small-scale modular plant to produce 88 Octane gasoline.
