Abstract
Dimethyl ether (DME) is a flammable gas that changes to liquid phase when applied a relatively mild pressure to it, i.e., 0.5 MPa. Therefore, DME has a special advantage to be utilized as both the gas and liquid fuels. Moreover, DME can be produced from various feedstock, including natural gas, residual oil, coal and biomass. On account of these features, DME might be a suitable form of intermediate fuel for Indonesia, which has abundant and unutilized energy resource but in other hand still highly relies on the import of energy commodities, particularly liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and diesel oil. This paper summarized the state of art of worldwide DME development and application, as well as discussed the potential application of DME in Indonesia. DME properties, production process and brief development history were first introduced. Then, state of the art of the global DME application and commercial market along with the available technology providers were summarized. Economic analysis and challenges for global DME application were subsequently discussed. Finally, the analysis of driving factor, potential benefit, and current state of DME application in Indonesia were presented. This paper could be an initial guide for the development of DME industry and application in Indonesia.
