equipment_sizingcostingefuel
Pre-feasibility sizing and costing for a liquid methanol receiving and storage system delivering stable flow to a downstream unit, including tank count/volume, pumping energy, losses, and levelized handling cost.
Design transfer/unloading flow rate delivered from storage to the downstream unit (or from unloading to tanks, if similar).
min 1 · max 500 · step 1 · t/h
Net annual quantity that must be sent from storage to the downstream unit (before losses are applied in the model).
min 1000 · max 5000000 · step 1000 · t/year
Total on-site methanol storage capacity. Used for tank count/size, autonomy and cost scaling.
Select for density basis only (minor impact).
Used to select a simplified loss fraction representative of vapor control performance.
Currently informational only; included for future refinements. CAPEX split remains constant in this pre-feasibility version.
Used for transfer pumping electricity cost.
min 0 · max 400 · step 1 · EUR/MWh
Used in the capital recovery factor (CRF) for annualizing equipment purchase CAPEX.
min 0.01 · max 0.25 · step 0.005 · ratio
Amortization period used with the discount rate in the CRF.
min 5 · max 40 · step 1 · years
Total storage capacity
Nominal stored methanol mass capacity (selected)
Total geometric tank volume required
Includes working fill fraction assumption
Number of storage tanks
Rounded up to respect maximum single-tank size
Capacity per tank
Total storage capacity divided across tanks
Storage autonomy
Days of average supply at the specified annual throughput
Inventory cycles per year
Annual throughput divided by storage capacity
Annual methanol losses
Handling + storage losses (simplified fraction of throughput)
Transfer pumping electricity consumption
Estimated from hydraulic head and pump efficiency
Equipment purchase CAPEX (total)
Tanks + transfer/metering + safety + unloading interface (excludes installation/indirects)
CAPEX bucket: tanks
Share of total equipment CAPEX
CAPEX bucket: transfer & metering
Pumps, piping, valves, metering skids (purchase only)
CAPEX bucket: safety & flammable handling
Fire & gas, bunding, vapor control/blanketing allowances (purchase only)
CAPEX bucket: unloading/loading interface
Connection and interface allowance (purchase only)
Annualized CAPEX
Equipment CAPEX annualized via CRF
Total annual cost
Annualized CAPEX + O&M + replacement + electricity
Levelized handling cost
Per net tonne of methanol delivered (after losses)
Levelized handling cost (energy basis)
Per MWh of methanol LHV delivered
Implied green H2 requirement (context)
Stoichiometric H2 corresponding to net methanol delivered
Implied CO2 feed requirement (context)
Stoichiometric CO2 corresponding to net methanol delivered
Calculator context
This calculator estimates the pre-feasibility sizing and equipment purchase cost (CAPEX) plus key OPEX for a liquid methanol receiving and storage asset: unloading interface, storage tanks, transfer pumps/metering, and safety/flammable handling systems. It is scoped for global screening studies and uses standard process engineering methods with literature-aligned defaults (IEA/IRENA e-fuels context, API-style tank sizing practice, and common techno-economic costing approaches).
The model converts user-provided methanol logistics requirements into storage and transfer equipment sizes, then applies power-law cost scaling and annualization to compute annual and levelized costs.
Key calculations:
E-fuels scaffold alignment: methanol LHV converts throughput to MWh-fuel, and stoichiometric H2/CO2 per methanol is reported as contextual demand signals (IEA/IRENA/Concawe/Fraunhofer).
43 assumptions used in the calculations
Prevents division-by-zero and ensures stable evaluation for boundary conditions.
Market range Not applicable (numerical parameter).
Mass unit conversion between tonnes and kilograms.
Market range Exact.
Time conversion for flow rate transformations.
Market range Exact.
Sufficient for pre-feasibility annualization of throughput.
Market range 365 (ignoring leap years).
Used in hydraulic power calculation.
Represents combined static + friction head for tank farm transfer at screening stage.
Represents combined efficiency from electrical input to hydraulic output for medium-size pumps.
Converts watts to kilowatts.
Market range Exact.
Converts kWh to MWh.
Market range Exact.
Used to convert tonnes to cubic meters for sizing.
Density differences by grade are negligible compared with temperature dependence at screening stage.
Accounts for ullage, operational flexibility, thermal expansion, and safety margin.
Constrains number of tanks and unit sizing without detailed mechanical design.
Ensures at least one tank when capacity is positive.
Market range 1 (exact).
Captures breathing/working losses and small handling losses in a single screening factor.
Represents reduced evaporative losses relative to fixed-roof assumptions.
Context-only indicator for e-methanol supply chain (not consumed by storage asset).
Market range Exact stoichiometric ratio (excluding side reactions).
Context-only indicator for e-methanol supply chain (not consumed by storage asset).
Market range Exact stoichiometric ratio (excluding recycle/purge effects).
Used to normalize handling cost to EUR/MWh-fuel for e-fuels TEA comparability.
Converts MJ to MWh (1 kWh = 3.6 MJ).
Market range Exact.
Represents a mid-scale terminal tank farm capacity used for normalizing the cost curve.
Represents tanks + transfer + safety + unloading interface as purchase-only CAPEX at reference scale.
Captures decreasing specific costs with larger storage installations.
Market range -0.25 to 0 (specific CAPEX decreases or stays flat with scale).
Prevents unrealistic low costs from scaling beyond intended range.
Market range Indicative floor for purchase-only scope in large installations.
Avoids unrealistic high costs for very small installations or atypical scope.
Market range Indicative ceiling for purchase-only scope with higher safety class.
Tanks often dominate purchase CAPEX for bulk liquid storage.
Represents transfer skids, metering, and piping allowances at equipment level.
Captures purchase cost of key safety systems at screening level.
Represents loading arms/hoses, interface skid, basic controls as purchase-only allowance.
Covers routine inspections, maintenance, spares, and basic site services for storage systems.
Reflects modest reduction in fixed O&M intensity for larger sites.
Market range -0.15 to 0.
Avoids unrealistically low fixed O&M for large capacity.
Avoids unrealistically high fixed O&M for small capacity.
Covers consumables, sampling/QC, routine operational overhead proportional to throughput.
Represents pumps, seals, instrumentation, metering elements as replaceable items within the equipment scope.
Used to annualize replacement allowance at screening stage.
Numeric code for DSL technology selector pattern.
Market range Not applicable.
Numeric code for DSL technology selector pattern.
Market range Not applicable.
Numeric code for tank configuration selection.
Market range Not applicable.
Numeric code for tank configuration selection.
Market range Not applicable.
Numeric code for unloading mode selection.
Market range Not applicable.
Numeric code for unloading mode selection.
Market range Not applicable.
Numeric code for unloading mode selection.
Market range Not applicable.
