Haldor-Topsoe methanol process

Other examples of methanol production processes using adiabatic multiple-bed reactor concepts are the Haldor Topsoe process and the Kellogg process. 

A silver-gauze catalyst is still used in some older processes that operate at a relatively higher temperature (about 500°C). New processes use an iron-molyhdenum oxide catalyst. Chromium or cohalt oxides are sometimes used to dope the catalyst. The oxidation reaction is exothermic and occurs at approximately 400-425 °C and atmospheric pressure. Excess air is used to keep the methanol air ratio helow the explosion limits. Figure 5-6 shows the Haldor Topsoe iron-molyhdenum oxide catalyzed process. 

Figure 5-6. The Haldor Topsoe and Nippon Kasel process for producing formaldehyde (1) blower, (2) heat exchanger, (3) reactor, (4) steam boiler, (5) absorber, (6,7) coolers, (8) Incinerator, (9) heat recovery, (10) methanol evaporator, (11) boiler feed water.

ATR(l) [Autothermal reforming] A process for making CO-enriched syngas. It combines partial oxidation with adiabatic steam-reforming. Developed in the late 1950s for ammonia and methanol synthesis. Further developed in the 1990s by Haldor Topsoe. 

MAS [Methanolo alcooli superiori] A process for making mixtures of methanol with higher alcohols, for use as gasoline extenders, developed by a consortium of Snamprogetti, Haldor Topsoe, and Anic. Piloted in a demonstration plant in Italy. 

Formaldehyde SR [Series Reactor] A process for making aqueous formaldehyde from methanol. Developed by Haldor Topsoe. Three plants had been built by 2005, and three more were under construction. 

In the two decades since I.C.I. introduced the low-pressure methanol process others have gained increasing shares of the market. Major competitors include Lurgi, Mitsubishi Gas Chemicals and Haldor Topsoe. All have their own variations of the co-precipitated Cu-ZnO catalysts. Recently, Alberta Gas Chemicals has constructed several 1200 tonne/day plants one at Medicine Hat, Alberta and the other at Taranaki near the Synfuels methanol-to-gasoline plant in New Zealand. The Alberta Gas Chemicals plants use catalysts under licence. 

Nissui-Topsoe Methanol-Synthesis Process. A schematic flow diagram [29] of the process offered by Haldor Topsoe of Denmark and Nihon Suiso Kogyo Company of Japan is given in Figure 3.17. The process is based on a copper-zinc-chrome catalyst that is active at 230—280 C and at a pressures of 100-200 atm. 

Haldor Topsoe A/S Low Pressure Methanol Synthesis Process. Figure 3.19 shows a schematic of Haldor Topsoe A/S process [9], starting from natural gas or associated gas feedstocks using two-step reforming. The syn-... 

Figure 3.19 Flow diagram of the Haldor Topsoe A/S low pressure methanol synthesis process. (1) desulfurizer, (2) process steam generation unit, (3) primary reformer, (4) oxygen-blown secondary reformer, (5) superheated high-pressure steam generator, (6) distillation section, (7) single-stage syngas compressor, (8) synthesis loop, and (9) is recirculator compressor for recycle gas. Source [9,14],...

Figure 3.22 shows a schematic of the Haldor-Topsoe A/S Formaldehyde Process. The process starting material is methanol and the catalyst used is Haldor Topsoe A/S FK-series iron/molybdenum-oxide catalysts [9]. The process is carried out in a recirculation loop at near atmospheric pressure (I—... 

Low-pressure methanol synthesis catalyst is a well-proven product that is commercially available from a number of reputable suppliers, including BASF, ICI, United Catalysts/Siid-Chemie, and Haldor-Topsoe. In the past, methanol synthesis catalyst was available from these suppliers as part of a process licensed to the end user, althou today this practice is no longer universally applied. 

Table 2 shows a comparison of the system efficiencies calculated for a 250 kW SOFC CHP systems based on different fuels [13, 14]. Methanol and DME can be relatively easily produced from biomass. The numbers for MeOH and DME involve a new process lay-out, developed by Haldor Topsoe A/S. 

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