Emvolon , an MIT spin-off, plans to change the way we produce sustainable fuels by converting engines into modular chemical plants . With its technology, the company wants to capture methane from distributed sources and convert it into green methanol like other chemicals, without the need for expensive infrastructure.
Conversion of engines into chemical plants
Methane is a greenhouse gas with an impact 84 times more potent than CO₂ over a 20-year period, and its emissions are mainly found in landfills, farms and oil wells. These places are dispersed, making the capture and conversion of the gas a major challenge. The Emvolon initiative seeks to overcome this obstacle, by installing modular systems close to the sources of methane, transforming the emissions into clean fuels.
At the heart of Emvolon’s solution is a common automotive engine, modified to operate under “ fuel-rich ” conditions. Instead of burning methane completely, the engine partially converts it into carbon monoxide and hydrogen , the building blocks needed to synthesize chemicals like methanol . This self-contained system can generate up to 8 tons of methanol per day and fits neatly into a 40-foot container, making it easy to transport and deploy.
The company has started producing green methanol , a fuel that is increasingly being adopted by the maritime sector to reduce polluting emissions. In addition, Emvolon plans to diversify its production to include green ammonia and other chemical products using hydrogen obtained from renewable sources such as solar and wind power.
In a major development, Emvolon recently signed an agreement with Montauk Renewables to build a pilot plant next to a landfill in Texas, capable of producing up to 15,000 gallons of methanol per year and scaling up to 2.5 million gallons. This collaboration could be extended to other sites, multiplying the impact of the technology.
Unlike chemical plants that require investments of hundreds of millions of dollars, modules can be built for an investment of between 1 and 10 million dollars. This allows for rapid and economical deployments, bringing the production of green fuels closer to where the resources are located.
“Our goal is to offer a practical solution for the energy transition,” says Kasseris. “ With modular systems, we can tackle methane emissions and produce sustainable fuels at competitive prices, without relying on subsidies .”
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Source: MIT
Photo: Christine Daniloff, MIT; iStock
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