Methanol from synthesis gas

Chem Systems Inc. proposed a process in which ben2yl alcohol obtained by an undisclosed direct oxidation of toluene is homologated with synthesis gas to yield 2-phen5iethyl alcohol, which is then readily dehydrated to styrene (57). This process eliminates the intermediate formation of methanol from synthesis gas but does require the independent production of ben2yl alcohol. 

Although methanol from synthesis gas has been a large-scale industrial chemical for 70 years, the scientific basis of the manufacture apparently can stand some improvement, which was undertaken by Beenackers, Graaf, and Stamhiiis (in Gheremisinoff, ed., Handbook of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 3, Gulf, 1989, pp. 671—699). The process occurs at 50 to 100 atm with catalyst of oxides of Gii-Zn-Al and a feed stream of H2, GO, and GO2. Three reactions were taken for the process ... 

The production of methanol from synthesis gas is a well-established process (23, 102), and there have been predictions that methanol itself could become the fuel of the future (103). Whether or not this prediction will prove correct is debatable4 meanwhile, Mobil suggests that coupling known methanol production technology with their new process provides an economically attractive alternative to both Fischer-Tropsch fuels and direct utilization of methanol (104). 

Sulfur is a potential problem even at low levels for synthesis gas systems using certain types of catalysts. The production of methanol from synthesis gas, for example, uses catalysts that are poisoned by sulfur. Some tar cracking catalysts are also sulfur sensitive. In those systems, thorough removal of sulfur will be required. Fuel cell systems are also sulfur sensitive. 

The activity and stability of skeletal catalysts can be improved with the use of additives, often referred to as promoters. These can be added to the alloy before leaching, or alternatively can be added to the leaching solution [16-19], An example is the use of zinc to promote skeletal copper for the catalytic synthesis of methanol from synthesis gas [20-22], Mary other promoters have been considered, both inorganic and organic in nature. 

The next 10 chapters cover a collection of petrochemicals not altogether related to each other. Synthesis gas is a basic building block that leads to the manufacture of ammonia and methanol. MTBE is made from methanol from synthesis gas (with a little isobutylene thrown in). The alcohols in Chapter 14 and 15, the aldehydes in 16, the ketones in 17, and the acids in 18 are all closely related to each other by looks, though the routes to get to them are perplexingly different. Alpha olefins and the plasticizer and detergent alcohols have the same roots and routes, but different ones from the rest. Maleic anhydride, acrylonitrile, and the acrylates— well, they re all used to make polymers and they had to be somewhere. 

Twenty-five years ago the only oxygenated aliphatics produced in important quantities were ethyl and n-butyl alcohols and acetone made by the fermentation of molasses and grain, glycerol made from fats and oils, and methanol and acetic acid made by the pyrolysis of wood. In 1927 the production of acetic acid (from acetylene) and methanol (from synthesis gas) was begun, both made fundamentally from coal. All these oxygenated products are still made from the old raw materials by the same or similar processes, but the amount so made has changed very little in the past quarter century. Nearly all the tremendous growth in the production of this class of compounds has come from petroleum hydrocarbons. 

When perfected, synthesis-gas-to-ethanol technology can be expected to have a large impact on fermentation ethanol markets. It is likely that thermochemical ethanol would then be manufactured at production costs in the same range as methanol from synthesis gas, which can be produced by gasification of virtually any fossil or biomass feedstock. Applying the advances that have been made for conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks via enzymatically catalyzed options, it has been estimated that the production cost of fermentation ethanol... 

Novel Catalytic Properties of Pd Sulfide for the Synthesis of Methanol from Synthesis Gas in the Presence and Absence of H2S... 

Desulfurization of petroleum feedstock (FBR), catalytic cracking (MBR or FI BR), hydrodewaxing (FBR), steam reforming of methane or naphtha (FBR), water-gas shift (CO conversion) reaction (FBR-A), ammonia synthesis (FBR-A), methanol from synthesis gas (FBR), oxidation of sulfur dioxide (FBR-A), isomerization of xylenes (FBR-A), catalytic reforming of naphtha (FBR-A), reduction of nitrobenzene to aniline (FBR), butadiene from n-butanes (FBR-A), ethylbenzene by alkylation of benzene (FBR), dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene (FBR), methyl ethyl ketone from sec-butyl alcohol (by dehydrogenation) (FBR), formaldehyde from methanol (FBR), disproportionation of toluene (FBR-A), dehydration of ethanol (FBR-A), dimethylaniline from aniline and methanol (FBR), vinyl chloride from acetone (FBR), vinyl acetate from acetylene and acetic acid (FBR), phosgene from carbon monoxide (FBR), dichloroethane by oxichlorination of ethylene (FBR), oxidation of ethylene to ethylene oxide (FBR), oxidation of benzene to maleic anhydride (FBR), oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde (FBR), phthalic anhydride from o-xylene (FBR), furane from butadiene (FBR), acrylonitrile by ammoxidation of propylene (FI BR)... 

Methanol from synthesis gas Low and medium pressure process... 

M.L. Poutsma, L.F. Elek, P. Ibarbia, H. Risch, and J.A. Rabo. Selective Formation of Methanol from Synthesis Gas over Palladium Catalysts. J. Catal. 52 157 (1978). 

Luytens and lungers and Nicholai et al. obtained an inverse isotope effect for H2/D2 for the production of methanol from synthesis gas using a nickel catalyst. Dalla Betta and Shelef reported the absence of an isotope effect for Ni, Ru and Pt catalysts, concluding that the rate-limiting step did not involve H (D). 

The formation of methanol from synthesis gas can be described by the two independent reverse reactions that were given in section 5.1.1.6. for the methanol splitting process by high temperatures or steam reforming. In the conventional method, a mixture of CO, CO2, and H2 is compressed to about 10 MPa and introduced into a fixed-bed catalytic reactor at temperatures of 220 - 280 °C and pressures of 5 - 20 MPa [27]. 

Most gas phase and liquid phase reactions are kinetically controlled as opposed to being equilibrium controlled (except for the oxidation of sulfur dioxide to sulfur trioxide, the production of methanol from synthesis gas, the production of ammonia from synthesis gas, and the production of hydrogen from the water-gas shift reaction - these are equilibrium controlled). 

Alkali metal alkoxides in association with transition metal carbonyls (e.g. Ni(CO)4) have featured in several patents covering the synthesis of methanol from synthesis gas (Eq. 7.6). ... 

Is the reaction kinetically or equilibrium controlled The answer affects both the maximum sin e-pass conversion and the reactor configuration. The majority of gas- and liquid-phase reactions in the CPI are kinetically controlled. The most notable exceptions are the formation of methanol from synthesis gas, synthesis of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen, and the production of hydrogen via the water-gas shift reaction. 

For methanol from synthesis gas, catalyst compositions based on Cu-Zn-Al-Sc oxides and calcination temperature of the catalyst precursor were optimised for achieving maximum activity. A combination of GA and a radial basis function network turned out to be more robust than GA alone. 

Two major versions of the MTG process currently exist. The first, as exemplified by the New Zealand GTG configuration, is a fixed-bed process the second is a fluidized-bed process. A third process concept, the Topsoe TIGAS [40], integrates methanol synthesis with MTG. This variation uses a multifunctional catalyst for producing a mixed oxygenate feed (including methanol) from synthesis gas and was tested... 

Recall the formation of methanol from synthesis gas, the reversible reaction at the heart of a process with great potential for the future production of automotive fuels (page 699). 

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