Dimethyl Ether: The Most Promising Fuel You’ve N

Dimethyl Ether: The Most Promising Fuel You’ve Never Heard Of

The United States is blessed with an abundance of natural gas. In less than a decade our perspective on our natural gas reserves has changed dramatically – what was once a precious commodity to be vehemently protected is now a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Though some of the natural gas will be exported by turning a couple of our now unneeded import terminals around, it would be much more advantageous to instead find domestic uses for the natural gas.

Enter DME

Dimethyl ether, or DME, behaves much like propane, transportable in propane tanks and combustible with propane when blended. DME is water soluble, non-toxic, and biodegradable in the event of a spill or other handling accident. And DME can be made from natural gas.

The refining process from natural gas to DME is straightforward. As with other gas-to-liquids processes, the first step is conversion to syngas, a mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. This syngas is then synthesized into methanol. Finally, DME is produced through a methanol dehydration reaction. Water is the only significant byproduct of the refining process.