Lurgi operational problems

These tests demonstrated that the Lurgi Rectisol process provides an extremely pure synthesis gas which can be charged directly to the metha-nation plant without problems of sulfur poisoning of the nickel catalyst. However, in order to cope with a sudden sulfur breakthrough from Rectisol as a result of maloperation, a commercial methanation plant should be operated with a ZnO emergency catchpot on line. 

The high pressure of the process was required because of the poor activity of the catalyst, but this problem was alleviated by the introduction of better catalysts by ICI and Lurgi in the 1960s and 1970s [148]. The current process for the synthesis of methanol, as operated by ICI in England [148], requires a CO/CO2/H2 feed mixture and a pressure of between 50 and 100 bar, which may or may not be supercritical, depending on the composition and pressure. 

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