Methanol Converter System

When the most economical mode of operation is to send the H2 to the methanol converter, and when C02 is available (being captured from some external fossil source such as a coal-burning power plant), each mol of C02 will require 3 mol of H2 to generate 1 mol of methanol (CH3OH). Therefore, in that mode of operation, the amount of H2 sent to the methanol converter (FT-30) is ratio-controlled by FFC-30 proportioning the H2 flow to match the flow of C02 (FT-34). 

The details of the methanol conversion process and its control are in development. The process itself is described in Dr. George Olah s book titled Beyond Oil and Gas The Methanol Economy, published by Wiley-VCH, and I understand that it is being developed by Universal Oil Products (UOP), which is also developing related process technologies and joint ventures for demonstration and de facto plants. Therefore, it is not certain, but it is likely that the methanol process could mature by the time the solar-hydrogen demonstration plant is completed, and in that case, it could be made part of the total power plant. 

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In 1990, Schroder and Schwarz reported that gas-phase FeO" " directly converts methane to methanol under thermal conditions [21]. The reaction is efficient, occuring at 20% of the collision rate, and is quite selective, producing methanol 40% of the time (FeOH+ + CH3 is the other major product). More recent experiments have shown that NiO and PtO also convert methane to methanol with good efficiency and selectivity [134]. Reactions of gas-phase transition metal oxides with methane thus provide a simple model system for the direct conversion of methane to methanol. These systems capture the essential chemistry, but do not have complicating contributions from solvent molecules, ligands, or multiple metal sites that are present in condensed-phase systems. 

Description Gas feedstock is compressed (if required), desulfurized (1) and sent to the optional saturator (2) where some process steam is generated. The saturator is used where maximum water recovery is important. Further process steam is added, and the mixture is preheated and sent to the pre-reformer (3), using the Catalytic-Rich-Gas process. Steam raised in the methanol converter is added, along with available C02, and the partially reformed mixture is preheated and sent to the reformer (4). High-grade heat in the reformed gas is recovered as high-pressure steam (5), boiler feedwater preheat, and for reboil heat in the distillation system (6). The high-pressure steam is used to drive the main compressors in the plant. 

Diederich s group has reported some bis-coenzyme models in which the thiazolium ring was a pendant on a macrocyclic system, that in the presence of MeFl in methanol converted aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes to the corresponding methyl esters. According to the mechanism in Scheme 1, the aldehyde is added to the ylide via to produce HEThDP-type compounds, then is deprotonated (Ar. ) to the enamine, that is oxidized to 2-acylThDP, that in turn is deacylated using methanol and resulting in the methyl ester. The principal novelty of the report is the ability to electrochemically recycle the reduced MeFlH". The yield of aromatic methyl esters, especially with electron-withdrawing para substituents, was much superior to that of the aliphatic esters of valeric and cyclohexanecarboxylic acids. 

Westerterp, K.R. and Kuezynski, M.A., Retrofit methanol plants with this converter system. Hydrocarbon processing, Int. Ed., 65 (11), 80-83, 1986. 

Pressure affects both equilibrium position and rate of reaction in methanol synthesis. From a total loop perspective, an increase (or decrease) in operating pressure affects more than merely the reaction conditions. It also affects the condensation of product (dew point) and recycle of methanol back to the converter system. Considering any gven converter, however, calculations indicate that a 10% increase in operating pressure yields about a 10% increase in methanol production if equilibrium conditions exist. When the reaction is far from equilibrium and controlled by kinetics, the increase (or decrease) in methanol production is more than proportional to the increase (or decrease) in operating... 

We saw m Section 9 10 that the combination of a Group I metal and liquid ammonia is a powerful reducing system capable of reducing alkynes to trans alkenes In the pres ence of an alcohol this same combination reduces arenes to nonconjugated dienes Thus treatment of benzene with sodium and methanol or ethanol m liquid ammonia converts It to 1 4 cyclohexadiene... 

A schematic diagram of a methanol-fueled PEFC system is shown in Fig. 27-65. A methanol reformer (to convert CH3OH to H9 and CO9... 

A low-pressure process has been developed by ICl operating at about 50 atm (700 psi) using a new active copper-based catalyst at 240°C. The synthesis reaction occurs over a bed of heterogeneous catalyst arranged in either sequential adiabatic beds or placed within heat transfer tubes. The reaction is limited by equilibrium, and methanol concentration at the converter s exit rarely exceeds 7%. The converter effluent is cooled to 40°C to condense product methanol, and the unreacted gases are recycled. Crude methanol from the separator contains water and low levels of by-products, which are removed using a two-column distillation system. Figure 5-5 shows the ICl methanol synthesis process. 

Intermolecular hydroalkoxylation of 1,1- and 1,3-di-substituted, tri-substituted and tetra-substituted allenes with a range of primary and secondary alcohols, methanol, phenol and propionic acid was catalysed by the system [AuCl(IPr)]/ AgOTf (1 1, 5 mol% each component) at room temperature in toluene, giving excellent conversions to the allylic ethers. Hydroalkoxylation of monosubstituted or trisubstituted allenes led to the selective addition of the alcohol to the less hindered allene terminus and the formation of allylic ethers. A plausible mechanism involves the reaction of the in situ formed cationic (IPr)Au" with the substituted allene to form the tt-allenyl complex 105, which after nucleophilic attack of the alcohol gives the o-alkenyl complex 106, which, in turn, is converted to the product by protonolysis and concomitant regeneration of the cationic active species (IPr)-Au" (Scheme 2.18) [86]. 

Betzemeier et al. (1998) have used f-BuOOH, in the presence of a Pd(II) catalyst bearing perfluorinated ligands using a biphasic system of benzene and bromo perfluoro octane to convert a variety of olefins, such as styrene, p-substituted styrenes, vinyl naphthalene, 1-decene etc. to the corresponding ketone via a Wacker type process. Xia and Fell (1997) have used the Li salt of triphenylphosphine monosulphonic acid, which can be solubilized with methanol. A hydroformylation reaction is conducted and catalyst recovery is facilitated by removal of methanol when filtration or extraction with water can be practised. The aqueous solution can be evaporated and the solid salt can be dissolved in methanol and recycled. 

Milbemectin consists of two active ingredients, M.A3 and M.A4. Milbemectin is extracted from plant materials and soils with methanol-water (7 3, v/v). After centrifugation, the extracts obtained are diluted to volume with the extraction solvent in a volumetric flask. Aliquots of the extracts are transferred on to a previously conditioned Cl8 solid-phase extraction (SPE) column. Milbemectin is eluted with methanol after washing the column with aqueous methanol. The eluate is evaporated to dryness and the residual milbemectin is converted to fluorescent anhydride derivatives after treatment with trifluoroacetic anhydride in 0.5 M triethylamine in benzene solution. The anhydride derivatives of M.A3 and M.A4 possess fluorescent sensitivity. The derivatized samples are dissolved in methanol and injected into a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system equipped with a fluorescence detector for quantitative determination. 

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