Qafac to launch world’s largest CO2 capture facility on Feb 9

Qatar Fuel Additives Company (Qafac) will formally launch the world’s largest commercial-scale carbon dioxide (CO2) capture facility on February 9. The state-of-the-art plant in Mesaieed is capable of recovering and reprocessing about 500 tonnes of carbon dioxide a day, which will be a major “environmental achievement” for Qatar’s energy sector.  The facility will capture carbon dioxide from combustion exhaust gas emitted from the methanol reformer process, and inject it into its existing methanol plant to enhance the production capacity. As a result, the plant will reprocess the equivalent of CO2 emitted from 32,000 cars a year, on a daily basis. HE the Minister of Energy and Industry, Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, and Qafac chairman Hamad Rashid al-Mohannadi will be among the dignitaries who will attend the celebrations marking the formal launch of the Qafac facility at Katara Village on February 9.On the significant milestone, Qafac chief executive officer Nasser Jeham al-Kuwari said: “We remain steadfast in achieving the sustainable development goals as outlined in the Qatar’s National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030) and Qatar’s National Development Strategy. “Through pursuit of excellence in technology and innovation, we are proud to launch our state-of-the-art carbon dioxide recovery plant. This achievement will advance the country’s development in the energy sector while providing a sustainable environment for future generations to thrive.”Established in 1991, Qafac continues to “uphold its mission” to be an international producer of methanol, its high-value derivatives and butane sub-products, in a “safe and environmentally friendly” manner. Qafac is a joint venture among Industries Qatar, OPIC Middle East Corporation, International Octane and LCY Middle East Corporation. The Qafac plant is designed to produce 982,350tonnes per year of methanol and 610,000tpy of Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).