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Fixed-bed methanol-to-propylene (MTP) front end for MtJ

Lurgi-type MTP: DME pre-reactor and fixed-bed ZSM-5 reactors with a swing reactor in regeneration. Gives propylene, gasoline and reaction water, the reactor count including the spare, the fixed capital from the single open anchor (Jasper 2015) and the levelised cost of propylene from e-methanol.

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Open Jack

Founder · OpenJack

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  • CurrencyEUR 2015
  • Battery limitfully financed
  • 60 documented assumptions
  • Updated2 Nov 2026

Mass and energy balance

What the asset draws and delivers for the case and load you choose.

Reference case

Share of the 8,760 h of the year at the rated methanol feed. Default 92 % is the 48 operating weeks per year of Mucci 2023, transposed from a methanol plant. It sets the yearly olefin output and spreads the capital over it.

Flows

  • In: Methanol (chemical grade)—

Asset

Fixed-bed methanol-to-propylene (Lurgi-type MTP)

  • Out: Propylene (polymer grade)—
  • Out: MTP gasoline—
  • Out: Ethylene (Air Liquide slate only)—
  • Out: Reaction water (to treatment)—

Annual quantities at the current usage.

Methanol (chemical grade) fed to the DME pre-reactor and the fixed-bed MTP reactors. Same key and unit as the SAPO-34 MTO calculator (#486), so the two routes can be swapped in a project. The cost anchor is the Jasper 2015 plant at 208.39 t/h (1825 kt/a); a 100 kt/a MtJ jet plant needs about 35-40 t/h. Below 104 t/h the capital cost is flagged as an extrapolation of that single anchor.

Propylene
— t/h
MTP gasoline
— t/h
Reaction water
— t/h
Reactors incl. spare
— count

CAPEX

Specific cost at this size, what backs it, and how it behaves with scale.

Specific CAPEX at this size

—

Reference size 208.4 t/h

Mucci 2023 §3

Model value: the Jasper 2015 fixed capital investment (345 MM$, January 2015) converted to EUR and scaled on the feed with the 0.6 exponent. Customized: your own specific FCI (a vendor quote), used as is at every size and no longer sourced.

Specific FCI by methanol feed

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  1. Ex-factory
  2. Installed
  3. Fully financed· this figure
CAPEX at the battery limit—

Included

  • Equipment and installation
  • Indirect and owner's costs
  • Contingency

Not included

  • Nothing

Added at project level

  • Nothing: project mode uses the figure as is

Project figures

Values passed to project mode when this asset is added to a project.

Concept sketch, not to scale · drag to rotate

Methanol (chemical grade) in
—
Propylene (polymer grade) outMain product
—
MTP gasoline out
—
Ethylene (Air Liquide slate only) out
—
Reaction water (to treatment) out
—
CAPEX to the battery limit
—
Fixed O&M
—
Variable O&M, excluding feedstocks
—
Asset lifetime
20 years

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Levelised cost of propylene

A standalone indicator for a quick read. Project mode recomputes it for the whole system.

—

  • Cost - methanol—
  • Cost - capital—
  • Cost - fixed O&M—
  • Cost - energy—
  • Cost - gasoline credit—

Linked to the balance above

Share of the 8,760 h of the year at the rated methanol feed. Default 92 % is the 48 operating weeks per year of Mucci 2023, transposed from a methanol plant. It sets the yearly olefin output and spreads the capital over it.

Delivered e-methanol price. Range 720-1440 EUR/t is the IRENA 2021 current e-methanol cost band (USD 800-1600/t, BECCS CO2) at IRENA's 0.9 EUR/USD; the default 1080 is its midpoint. About 3.2 t of methanol make 1 t of propylene, so this price drives most of the cost.

Value given to the MTP gasoline by-product. 761.5 EUR/t is the Jasper 2015 gasoline price ($885/t at 1.1621 USD/EUR); 0 gives no credit. LPG, ethylene and fuel gas are not credited.

Real discount rate for the capital recovery factor and the working-capital charge. 5 % is the Mucci 2023 value; 8 % is the OpenJack convention for e-fuel plants.

Service life of the chemical plant: Mucci 2023 uses 20 years and quotes a 'typical lifetime of the chemical plant (20-30 years)'.

Levelised cost of propylene by capacity factor

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Benchmarks

This model's figures against published references and reference cases.

Cost at fossil methanol price, EUR/t

1,119 Jasper 2015 §6; ECB

Gasoline to propylene ratio, t/t

0.2764 Jasper 2015 Table 1

0.383 Air Liquide 2017

Reference cases at this size and usage

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All results

Every model output at the current settings, grouped, with the sensitivity charts.

69 outputs · 6 groups · 21 also shown above, dimmed

Cost of propylene

10
Levelised cost of propylene
ComputingEUR/t
Cost - methanol
ComputingEUR/t
Cost - capital
ComputingEUR/t
Cost - fixed O&M
ComputingEUR/t
Cost - energy
ComputingEUR/t
Cost - gasoline credit
ComputingEUR/t
Levelised cost of olefins
ComputingEUR/t
Methanol share of the cost
Computing%
Capital share of the cost
Computing%
Net annual cost
ComputingEUR/year

Benchmarks and prices

6
Cost at fossil methanol price
ComputingEUR/t
Propylene price (Jasper 2015)
ComputingEUR/t
Fossil methanol price (Jasper 2015)
ComputingEUR/t
Gasoline price (Jasper 2015)
ComputingEUR/t
E-methanol price, IRENA low
ComputingEUR/t
E-methanol price, IRENA high
ComputingEUR/t

Products and mass balance

14
Propylene
Computingt/h
Propylene per year
Computingt/year
Propylene per year (kt)
Computingkt/year
MTP gasoline
Computingt/h
Gasoline per year
Computingt/year
Ethylene
Computingt/h
Ethylene per year
Computingt/year
LPG, fuel gas and coke
Computingt/h
Reaction water
Computingt/h
Reaction water per year
Computingt/year
Methanol per year
Computingt/year
Methanol per year (kt)
Computingkt/year
Operating hours
Computingh/year
Mass-balance closure
Computing%

Yields and slate

13
Propylene yield
Computingt/t
Gasoline yield
Computingt/t
Olefin yield (C2= + C3=)
Computingt/t
LPG, fuel gas and coke yield
Computingt/t
Hydrocarbon yield
Computingt/t
Reaction water yield
Computingt/t
Gasoline to propylene ratio
Computingt/t
Methanol per t propylene
Computingt/t
Anchor feed from Table A2
Computingt/h
Anchor feed from Table 1
Computingt/h
Process water, Jasper Table A2
Computingt/h
Table A2 water vs stoichiometry
Computing%
Air Liquide water vs stoichiometry
Computing%

Reactors

7
Reactors incl. spare
Computingcount
Operating reactors
Computingcount
Capacity per operating reactor
Computingt/h
Reactor utilisation
Computing%
Idle reactor capacity
Computing%
Catalyst beds, low
Computingbeds
Catalyst beds, high
Computingbeds

Capital and operating costs

19
Fixed capital investment (FCI)
ComputingMEUR2015
FCI (EUR)
ComputingEUR
Specific FCI
ComputingMEUR per t/h
Specific FCI, model value
ComputingMEUR per t/h
Reference specific FCI
ComputingMEUR per t/h
Reference FCI
ComputingMEUR2015
FCI, linear scaling variant
ComputingMEUR2015
Scale ratio
Computingratio
FCI extrapolated
Computingbool
Working capital
ComputingEUR
Capital recovery factor
Computing1/year
Annualised FCI
ComputingEUR/year
Working-capital charge
ComputingEUR/year
Fixed O&M
ComputingEUR/year
Energy cost per t methanol
ComputingEUR/t
Energy cost
ComputingEUR/year
Variable OPEX excl. feedstock
ComputingEUR/year
Methanol cost
ComputingEUR/year
Gasoline credit
ComputingEUR/year

Sensitivities

6 charts
Cost of propylene by component vs capacity factor

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Cost of propylene vs methanol price

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FCI and specific FCI vs methanol feed (anchor 208.39 t/h)

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Propylene, gasoline and reaction water vs methanol feed

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Reactors vs methanol feed

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Cost of propylene vs methanol feed

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Sources

60 documented assumptions · 6 sources

About

Calculator context

A screening model of the methanol-to-propylene (MTP) front end of a methanol-to-jet (MtJ) chain, built for a feasibility study that has to stand in front of a lender. It is the Lurgi-type route described by Jasper & El-Halwagi (2015): methanol is first partly converted to dimethyl ether in an adiabatic pre-reactor, then to olefins over ZSM-5 in fixed-bed reactors of five or six beds with fresh feed injected between beds. The reaction zone runs reactors in parallel with one of them off-line for coke burn-off with air, so the plant always carries a spare. C4= and other olefins are recycled internally and leave no net product: the plant sells propylene, with gasoline and LPG as by-products. It is an alternative to the SAPO-34 fluidised-bed MTO route of #486 (same methanol feed key), with a propylene-rich slate and more gasoline.

The mass balance is deterministic. Reaction water is stoichiometric (one mole of water per mole of methanol, 0.562 t/t), cross-checked against the water stream of the Jasper flowsheet (Table A2) and the water line of the Air Liquide GTP brochure. Two published slates are offered as reference cases: Jasper 2015 Table 1 (0.311 t propylene and 0.086 t gasoline per t methanol, LPG, fuel gas and coke lumped as the residue) and the Air Liquide Lurgi GTP brochure, whose product shares give more gasoline and some ethylene. Their gap, 0.28 against 0.38 t gasoline per t propylene, is the slate uncertainty; no source prints a net C4= product, so none is shown. The reactor count is the number of operating reactors at the capacity per reactor of the Jasper design (its feed over two operating reactors), plus one swing reactor.

Capital comes from a single open source: the fixed capital investment of Jasper 2015 Table 2 (345 MM$, January 2015, Aspen Process Economic Analyzer, methanol purification column included), converted at the ECB January 2015 rate and not escalated, as no index was sourced. It is scaled on the methanol feed with the six-tenths rule, printed by Mucci 2023 for a methanol plant and transposed here, so evidence is medium. This holds as a point but is a poor anchor across 25-400 t/h; a flag marks the far range and a linear-scaling variant shows the no-economy-of-scale bound. It stays defensible because capital is a few percent of the cost of propylene. A Customized option takes a vendor figure as is.

The headline is a levelised cost of propylene: annualised capital and working capital, fixed O&M at 5 % of capital (Mucci 2023), utilities at the Jasper energy cost per tonne of methanol, and methanol at the entered e-methanol price (IRENA 2021 band), minus a gasoline credit. About 3.2 t of methanol make a tonne of propylene, so the methanol price drives the result. Currency mix: capital and utilities are EUR 2015, the methanol price is USD 2021 at IRENA's 0.9 EUR/USD. A comparison output re-prices methanol at the 2015 fossil price of the study, next to its propylene price, both in EUR 2015.

Model

130 variables — inputs, calculations and outputs, with their dependencies.

130 variables shown of 130
VariableValueUnitDepends on
208.39t/h—
92%—
1——
0——
1.42MEUR per t/h—
1080EUR/t—
761.5EUR/t—
0.08ratio—
20years—
VariableFormulaUnitDepends on
if((<=)+(<=)+(>)+(!=)*(!=)+(<)+(>)+(>=)*(<=)+(<)+(<)+(<)+(>=)+(<)>,,)bool
if(==,,)bool
+++t/d
/t/t
/t/t
**/t/t
VariableFormulaUnitDepends on
**h/year
/t/t
-t/t
if(>=,*/,)t/t
if(>=,*/,)t/t
---t/t
+t/t
/max(,)t/t
*t/h
*t/h
*t/h
*t/h
*t/h
(++++)/max(,)*%
/max(,)t/t
*t/year
*kt/year
*t/year
*kt/year
*t/year
*t/year
*t/year
**t/h
*/t/h
**t/h
(/max(*,)-)*%
(/max(*/,)-)*%
/(-)t/h
max(ceil(/),)count
+count
/(*)*%
-%
*beds
*beds
/MEUR2015
/MEUR per t/h
/ratio
clamp(*^(-),,)MEUR per t/h
if(>=,,)MEUR per t/h
*MEUR2015
*EUR
*^MEUR2015
if((<)+(>)>,,)bool
**EUR
if(<,/,(*(+)^)/max((+)^-,))1/year
*EUR/year
*EUR/year
//*EUR/t
**EUR/year
*EUR/year
*EUR/year
*EUR/year
EUR/year
++++-EUR/year
(+)/max(,)EUR/t
/max(,)EUR/t
/max(,)EUR/t
/max(,)EUR/t
-/max(,)EUR/t
++++EUR/t
/max(,)*%
/max(,)*%
/max(*,)EUR/t
/EUR/t
+(-)*EUR/t
/EUR/t
/EUR/t
*EUR/t
*EUR/t

Assumptions

60 assumptions used in the calculations

  • Protects divisions against a zero denominator.

    Market range Not applicable (numerical or unit constant).

    0.000001
    Numerical or unit constant

  • Calendar hours used to annualise hourly flows (CLAUDE.md §7 helper: flow x 8760 x CF/100).

    Market range Not applicable (numerical or unit constant).

    8760h/year
    Numerical or unit constant

  • Literal zero for guards and flags.

    Market range Not applicable (numerical or unit constant).

    0
    Numerical or unit constant

  • Literal one for flags, the CRF and ratios.

    Market range Not applicable (numerical or unit constant).

    1
    Numerical or unit constant

  • Converts fractions to percent.

    Market range Not applicable (numerical or unit constant).

    100
    Numerical or unit constant

  • Converts a percent input to a fraction.

    Market range Not applicable (numerical or unit constant).

    0.01
    Numerical or unit constant

  • Converts million euro to euro.

    Market range Not applicable (numerical or unit constant).

    1000000EUR/MEUR
    Numerical or unit constant

  • Converts kilotonnes to tonnes.

    Market range Not applicable (numerical or unit constant).

    1000t/kt
    Numerical or unit constant

  • Converts kilograms to tonnes (kmol x kg/kmol -> t).

    Market range Not applicable (numerical or unit constant).

    0.001t/kg
    Numerical or unit constant

  • Converts tonnes to kilotonnes for display.

    Market range Not applicable (numerical or unit constant).

    0.001kt/t
    Numerical or unit constant

  • Identifier of the Jasper 2015 product slate reference case.

    Market range Not applicable (numerical or unit constant).

    1
    Numerical or unit constant

  • Identifier of the Air Liquide Lurgi GTP product slate reference case.

    Market range Not applicable (numerical or unit constant).

    2
    Numerical or unit constant

  • Methanol feed of the Jasper MTP reference plant. With the propylene and gasoline rows of the same table it fixes the mass yields of the Jasper case.

    Market range Single design point; no range given by the source.

    1825kt/year
    Jasper 2015 Table 1

  • Propylene product of the Jasper MTP plant; propylene yield = 568/1825 t/t methanol.

    Market range The Air Liquide GTP brochure slate gives a lower propylene share of the hydrocarbons (see the Air Liquide reference case).

    568kt/year
    Jasper 2015 Table 1

  • Gasoline by-product of the Jasper MTP plant; gasoline yield = 157/1825 t/t methanol. Jasper lumps LPG and ethylene, which are not printed separately.

    Market range Air Liquide GTP brochure: 540 t/d gasoline for 1410 t/d propylene (ratio 0.38 against 0.28 in Jasper).

    157kt/year
    Jasper 2015 Table 1

  • Molar methanol feed of the Jasper flowsheet; with the NIST molar mass it gives the 208.39 t/h reference feed.

    Market range Single flowsheet value.

    6,503.589kmol/h
    Jasper 2015 Table A2

  • Process water leaving the Jasper flowsheet; used only as a cross-check of the stoichiometric reaction water (it also carries the water of the DME pre-reactor recycle).

    Market range Within 1.4 % of the stoichiometric water at the reference feed.

    6,594.133kmol/h
    Jasper 2015 Table A2

  • Reference size of the single CAPEX anchor (FCI 345 MM$). Derived from two printed tables, so the scale law is anchored on the actual design feed and not on a round number.

    Market range Single anchor; no second open MTP design point found.

    208.39t/h
    Jasper 2015 Tables 1 and A2 (derived)

  • Molar mass for the stoichiometric water yield and the kmol -> t conversion.

    Market range Exact.

    32.0419kg/kmol
    NIST

  • Molar mass for the stoichiometric water yield: CH3OH -> (CH2) + H2O releases one mole of water per mole of methanol.

    Market range Exact.

    18.0153kg/kmol
    NIST

  • Reference reactor count: two on stream plus one regenerating (coke burn-off with air).

    Market range No source gives a maximum MTP reactor size; the capacity per operating reactor is derived from this single design.

    3count
    Jasper 2015 §4

  • Swing reactor kept off-line for coke burn-off; the model keeps exactly one spare at every size.

    Market range One spare per reaction zone in the source design; larger plants could share or add spares (not modelled).

    1count
    Jasper 2015 §4

  • Lower count of ZSM-5 beds per reactor, with interbed fresh-feed quench.

    5beds
    Jasper 2015 §4

  • Upper count of ZSM-5 beds per reactor.

    6beds
    Jasper 2015 §4

  • The only open-access MTP capital cost found. Taken as an all-in fixed capital investment (battery_limit fully_financed). Not escalated to a later year: no index was sourced, so the figure is likely understated today.

    Market range Intratec 560 kt/a MTP report exists but is paywalled and not used; no independent open value to compare.

    345MUSD2015
    Jasper 2015 Table 2

  • Converts the January 2015 USD figures of Jasper (FCI, energy cost, prices) to EUR at the month of the cost basis.

    Market range Monthly average; 2015 annual average was lower (about 1.11).

    1.1621USD/EUR
    ECB

  • Working capital, charged in the levelised cost at the discount rate (not depreciated, recovered at the end of life).

    15%
    Jasper 2015 §6

  • Utility cost of the reference plant, scaled linearly with methanol throughput: 33 MM$/a / 1825 kt/a / 1.1621 = 15.56 EUR per t of methanol.

    Market range Single value; the utility mix is not broken down in the source.

    33MUSD/year
    Jasper 2015 Table 2

  • Upper end of the gasoline by-product credit (885 / 1.1621 = 761.5 EUR/t).

    Market range Credit set by the user from 0 to 761.5 EUR/t.

    885USD/t
    Jasper 2015 §6

  • Fossil methanol price of the Jasper study, used only for the comparison output 'cost at fossil methanol price'.

    Market range Fossil methanol price of the 2015 study; e-methanol is 1.9-3.7 times higher (IRENA 2021 band).

    450USD/t
    Jasper 2015 §6

  • Propylene market price used by Jasper; shown in EUR as a benchmark for the cost at fossil methanol price.

    Market range Single price assumption of the 2015 study.

    1300USD/t
    Jasper 2015 §6

  • Exponent of the fixed capital on the methanol feed. It is the generic six-tenths rule printed for a methanol plant, transposed to MTP: not an MTP-specific law, hence medium evidence. The linear variant (exponent 1) is shown next to it as the no-economy-of-scale bound.

    0.6
    Mucci 2023 §3

  • Sensitivity variant only: the FCI the anchor would give with no economy of scale. It does not enter the levelised cost.

    Market range Bound of the plausible exponent range (0.6-1.0).

    1
    Engineering bound

  • Fixed operation and maintenance per year as a share of FCI, transposed from a methanol synthesis plant.

    Market range Transposed from a methanol plant; no MTP-specific O&M share found.

    5%/year
    Mucci 2023 Table 2

  • Lower end of the e-methanol price band (720 EUR/t at IRENA's own rate), the lower limit of the methanol price input.

    Market range USD 800-1600/t for e-methanol with BECCS CO2 (same sentence).

    800USD/t
    IRENA 2021

  • Upper end of the e-methanol price band (1440 EUR/t), the upper limit of the methanol price input.

    Market range Same range as above; DAC-based e-methanol is higher.

    1600USD/t
    IRENA 2021

  • IRENA's own conversion, used to express its e-methanol band in EUR. It differs from the ECB 2015 rate applied to Jasper: the currency mix is declared.

    Market range Report convention, not a market rate.

    0.9EUR/USD
    IRENA 2021

  • Propylene line of the Air Liquide reference slate.

    Market range Licensor brochure figure.

    1410t/d
    Air Liquide 2017

  • Gasoline line of the Air Liquide reference slate (gasoline/propylene 0.38).

    Market range Jasper 2015 gives 0.28 gasoline per propylene.

    540t/d
    Air Liquide 2017

  • LPG line of the Air Liquide reference slate.

    Market range Not printed separately by Jasper.

    109t/d
    Air Liquide 2017

  • Ethylene line of the Air Liquide reference slate.

    Market range Optional product in the brochure.

    60t/d
    Air Liquide 2017

  • Used only to cross-check the stoichiometric reaction water against the hydrocarbon products of the Air Liquide slate.

    Market range Within about 3 % of stoichiometry (output 'Air Liquide water vs stoichiometry').

    2800t/d
    Air Liquide 2017

  • Floor of the clamp on the scaled specific FCI. It never binds inside the declared slider range.

    Market range Not applicable (guard).

    0.3MEUR per t/h
    Guard

  • Ceiling of the clamp on the scaled specific FCI. It never binds inside the declared slider range.

    Market range Not applicable (guard).

    10MEUR per t/h
    Guard

  • Below 0.5 x the reference feed (about 104 t/h) the FCI is flagged as extrapolated from the single Jasper anchor.

    Market range Not applicable (display flag).

    0.5ratio
    Convention

  • Above 2 x the reference feed (about 417 t/h) the FCI is flagged as extrapolated.

    Market range Not applicable (display flag).

    2ratio
    Convention

  • Scope: the Lurgi-type MTP front end from methanol to separated propylene, gasoline and water. C4= and other olefins are recycled internally and leave no net product. The recycle ratio is not modelled: no open source prints it in a usable form.

    Market range Not applicable (method).

    —
    Jasper 2015

  • LCO = (FCI x CRF + WCI x i + 5 % FCI + energy + methanol - gasoline credit) / propylene per year. Currency mix: capital and energy are EUR 2015 (Jasper, January 2015, ECB rate), the methanol price is USD 2021 at IRENA's 0.9 EUR/USD. No escalation index was sourced, so the capital is likely understated today; its weight in the cost is under 3 % at the anchor.

    Market range Not applicable (method).

    —
    Method

  • The single CAPEX holds as a point but is a poor anchor across 25-400 t/h (8x below to 2x above the reference). It is shown with an extrapolation flag and a linear-scaling variant; the levelised cost stays defensible because capital is a few percent of it.

    Market range No second open anchor.

    —
    Jasper 2015

  • The two published slates differ by 36 % on gasoline per propylene. Both are offered as reference cases; the Air Liquide case applies the brochure product shares to the stoichiometric hydrocarbon yield (fuel gas and coke not printed, taken as zero), a derivation of medium evidence.

    Market range 0.28-0.38 t gasoline per t propylene.

    —
    Jasper 2015; Air Liquide 2017

  • Default real discount rate of the levelised cost.

    Market range 5 % (Mucci 2023) to 10 %.

    0.08ratio
    OpenJack convention

  • Lower end of the discount rate input.

    Market range Single value in the source.

    0.05ratio
    Mucci 2023 Table 2

  • Default service life of the plant, exported to project mode as the asset life.

    20years
    Mucci 2023 Table 2

  • Upper end of the lifetime input.

    30years
    Mucci 2023 §3.2

  • Default capacity factor.

    92%
    Mucci 2023 Table 2

  • Default methanol price.

    1080EUR/t
    IRENA 2021 (derived)

  • Fossil propylene market price of the 2015 study in EUR 2015, the benchmark for the cost at fossil methanol price (same currency and year).

    Market range Single price of the study.

    1,118.66EUR/t
    Jasper 2015 §6; ECB

  • Published gasoline-to-propylene ratio of the Jasper slate.

    0.2764t/t
    Jasper 2015 Table 1

  • Published gasoline-to-propylene ratio of the licensor slate.

    0.383t/t
    Air Liquide 2017

  • The plausible range of the levelised cost is set by the corners, driven by about 3.2-3.4 t of methanol per t of propylene; the bounds of the result cover every corner.

    Market range See bounds.

    —
    Model corners