Application of DME

 DME is a synthetic fuel that could be obtained at an economical price by mass production from such raw materials as natural gas, coal, and biomass. It is possible to use DME in various fields and DME has been experimentally confirmed practical for various utilization equipments.

Household use fuel

 DME can be used for cooking stove and home heating similar to the city gas and LPG. It is confirmed that equipments for LPG can be used with a mixture of DME and LPG of which the concentration of DME is maximum 20%.
 A cogeneration system using the diesel engine fueled with DME has been developed.

Transportation fuel

 As Cetane number of DME is as high as 55 to 60, DME can be used as a fuel for diesel engines. DME engine development and DME vehicle development have been completed, and the durability of DME vehicle was confirmed by road running test for 100,000km or longer. Moreover, a technical development of DME filling equipment to DME vehicle has been completed, too.

Power generation fuel

 DME can be used as a boiler fuel and a gas turbine fuel. It was confirmed by demonstration tests that a thermal efficiency and an environmental characteristic of existing equipments with DME are similar to those with the natural gas.
 A large-scale diesel engine test with DME for power generation was executed.
 DME is reformed with steam at relatively lower temperature than natural gas and LPG, etc. and has some advantage on heat balance, therefore DME is a promising fuel for the fuel cell. Moreover, a compact reforming device has been developed for the fuel-cell car.

Industrial fuel

 DME is currently used for boilers of food companies and porcelain baking

Chemical feedstock

 A technology producing ethylene and propylene from DME has been developed. It is expected that the production cost is reduced compared with producing from the petroleum naphtha of which the price has soared.

 Raw materials for DME production, production method, and application of DME are shown