ExxonMobil's Methanol to Gasoline (MTG) Technology Selected for DKRW Advanced Fuels’ Coal to Liquids Project

FAIRFAX, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company (EMRE) announced today that its MTG technology for converting methanol to gasoline has been selected by DKRW Advanced Fuels (DKRW) as part of DKRW’s coal to liquids (CTL) project in Medicine Bow, WY. Medicine Bow Fuel and Power LLC will be the owner and operator of the CTL project.

This approximate 15,000 barrel per calendar day unit will be based on commercially proven MTG technology which incorporates improvements since the technology was originally commercialized by ExxonMobil 20 years ago in New Zealand.

MTG converts crude methanol directly to low sulfur, low benzene gasoline that can be sold directly or blended with conventional refinery gasoline. Although the original application of the MTG technology processed methanol from natural gas, the same technology can be used for methanol from other sources such as coal, petcoke or biomass. The Medicine Bow project will gasify the coal, convert the synthetic gas to methanol, and then convert the methanol to gasoline via the MTG process. Conversion of coal to gasoline through gasification and methanol conversion is one way to significantly reduce the potential pollutants from coal, including the reduction of SO_x emissions and the capture of CO₂.

EMRE is the research and engineering arm of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), a leading global oil, natural gas, and petrochemicals company whose subsidiaries have operations in nearly 200 countries and territories. Additional information regarding ExxonMobil and technologies it licenses can be found at http://www.exxonmobil.com/refiningtechnologies.

Medicine Bow Fuel and Power is owned by DKRW Advanced Fuels, a subsidiary of DKRW Energy. Arch Coal is a shareholder of Advanced Fuels. DKRW Advanced Fuels is focused on the conversion of lower priced hydrocarbons, such as coal, into competitively priced products. More information can be found at www.dkrwadvancedfuels.com.