DME Primer

The world is at the threshold of a new energy economy which will require not only the use of new energy resources but also new energy carriers which will be environmentally benign, energy efficient, “multi-purpose,” and produced at low prices.

An exceptionally attractive alternative energy carrier and fuel is dimethyl ether (DME), the simplest ether, which appeared recently as a winning candidate for the next-generation “multi-source multi-purpose” energy-transfer commodity and chemical building block.

DME is a propane like chemical substance that has been used primarily until recent years mainly as a propellant in aerosols. DME is a highly stable and clean gas that is liquefied under pressure. From the mid-1990’s, due to its special chemical characteristics, DME has been increasingly introduced as a potential multipurpose fuel and has been touted at the next generation energy carrier, fuel and chemical building block for the next century.

DME can be produced either from fossil fuels or non-fossil-fuel sources, and the world demand for this product will increase rapidly within the next few years.

The economy of the future DME commodity is valued due to:

The simplicity and low cost of production processes,

High-energy efficiency,

Superior performance in various fuel applications,

Lower transportation and distribution costs than those of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG),

Direct applicability as a fuel cell fuel, and

Versatile applications as a chemical building block for production of hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals.

DME is easily liquefied, and its physical properties are so similar to those of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). DME can be distributed, stored, etc., as liquid using existing LPG-handling technology which should assist in its assimilation in the existing petroleum fuel marketplace.

Mass production of DME from a variety of carbon-containing fossil or nonfossil feedstocks will lead gradually to the replacement of crude oil in future applications.

DME will greatly decrease our dependence on petroleum imports and consequently will have important, long-term economic and environmental consequences, which determine the way of life of many coming generations.

Learn more about our DME Market Applications

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