The replacement of high-sulfur bunker-oil fuel (literally the bottom of the barrel in terms of petroleum refining) with methanol is an undeniable win on multipl

The replacement of high-sulfur bunker-oil fuel (literally the bottom of the barrel in terms of petroleum refining) with methanol is an undeniable win on multiple grounds, such as high air pollution in port cities and along shipping lanes. Methanol is simply a much cleaner-burning fuel, regardless of source. As far as synthetic hydrocarbon production goes, methanol is low-hanging fruit. E.g. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fchem.2018.00446/full https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fchem.2018.0044... > "Starting from pure CO2 and a separate pure source of H2, rather than a mixture of CO, CO2, and H2 as is the case with syngas, simplifies the chemistry, and therefore also changes the reaction and purification processes from conventional methanol producing industrial plants. At the core of the advantages is that the reaction impurities are essentially limited to only water and dissolved CO2 in the crude methanol."