Methanation catalysts are in strong demand in the field of coal-to-natural gas, and my country’s R&D enthusiasm continues to rise

Methanation technology refers to the core technology for converting coal into clean natural gas. Its technical principle is to use a catalyst to hydrogenate carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide into methane. Methanation catalyst is a new type of transition metal catalyst, composed of aluminum oxide and nickel oxide, and is a key product of methanation technology. Methanation catalysts are not easily pulverized, have good heat resistance, and have active chemical properties. They are widely used in deep purification devices such as coke oven gas to ammonia, natural gas to hydrogen, coal to natural gas and other deep purification devices.

The main preparation methods of methanation catalyst include co-precipitation method and impregnation method. The co-precipitation method uses nickel as the main raw material, adds magnesium nitrate and soluble rare earth compounds, and finally obtains the finished product through processes such as dissolution, neutralization, precipitation, filtration, roasting, and molding. The impregnation method uses alumina and rare earth compounds as the main raw materials, and the carrier is obtained by extruding, drying, and roasting, and then adding the solution for impregnation to finally obtain the finished product. my country’s methanation catalyst industry started late. For a long time, its core technology has been monopolized by overseas companies, resulting in my country’s demand being highly dependent on imports.

According to the “2023-2028 China Methanation Catalyst Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center, Methanation catalysts are mainly used in deep purification devices such as coke oven gas to produce ammonia, natural gas to produce hydrogen, and coal to produce natural gas. The global methanation catalyst market is mainly concentrated in European and American countries. The global methanation catalyst market will reach 620 million yuan in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 7.6%. In terms of the local market, as a demonstration industry of modern coal chemical industry, the development speed of my country’s coal-to-natural gas industry continues to accelerate. In 2022, my country’s coal-to-natural gas production will reach nearly 6 billion cubic meters. Driven by downstream demand, my country’s methanation catalyst market will further expand in the future.

In recent years, the localization process of my country’s entire coal-to-natural gas technology chain has accelerated, driving continuous breakthroughs in methanation technology. Against this background, as a key product of methanation technology, my country’s enthusiasm for research and development of methanation catalysts continues to rise. In January 2022, the methanation catalyst jointly developed by Southwest Research Institute and Gas and Power Group was used for the first time in the Qinghua coal-to-natural gas project. As local enterprises and scientific research institutions continue to increase their investment in research and development, the market share of my country’s domestic methanation catalysts will further increase.

The main players in my country’s methanation catalyst market include Huihuang Technology, Datang Group, CNOOC, Haohua Chemical, Shutai Chemical, etc. Industry analysts said that with the support of national policies and the improvement of independent research and development capabilities of local enterprises, the development speed of my country’s methanation catalyst industry will further accelerate . Methanation catalysts are mainly used in coal-to-natural gas deep purification devices. Benefiting from the increasingly strong downstream demand, the development space of my country’s methanation catalyst industry will further expand.