ExxonMobil Research and Engineering (EMRE) is marketing a proprietary process that converts methanol to gasoline. The process is designated as MTG Technology. The MTG process has recently seen increased commercial activity with the increased interest in coal-to-liquid (CTL) plants in the United States. The increased interest in Coal-To-Liquids plants in the U.S. is increasing commercial activity for ExxonMobil’s MTG technology.

The process was proven at a plant in New Zealand in the 1980′s when a first of it’s kind MTG unit was constructed and operated for over ten years. The MTG unit was a commercial success. The New Zealand plant is not currently in operation, but was not shut down due to problems with the MTG process.

The MTG process is a catalytic, exothermic reaction. The MTG process uses a conventional, fixed bed catalyst reactor. The reactors for the New Zealand plant were not huge by modern refinery standards and weighed approximately 80 tons eachs which is a plus for shipping equipment to inland sites.
The MTG process converts 90% of the methanol and produces an ultra clean, high octane gasoline that can be used in automobiles without additional processing.

Public domain studies and cost estimates indicate that a CTL plant with methanol and MTG will not have a higher cost than Fischer-Tropsch and may have a lower cost.