ABSTRACT
Methanol synthesis from carbon monoxide and hydrogen is one of the most important processes in the chemical industry. Conversion of the reactants in a conventional tubular fixed-bed reactor is limited by the reaction thermodynamics. This chapter considers the requirements to an optimal adsorbent for methanol synthesis. The equilibrium uptake of methanol as a function of the adsorption potential under typical conditions of methanol synthesis is presented for the LiBr- and calcium chloride (CaCl2)-based composites. Another parameter of practical importance is the thermal stability of the adsorbent used for shifting the equilibrium. When using the Ca(NO3)2/SiO2 composite, the outlet mixture contained the same components as in the blank experiment. The composite adsorbent Ca(NO3)2/SiO2 has been intently designed for shifting the equilibrium of methanol synthesis by removing methanol from the reaction mixture. Testing this composite has shown that it efficiently adsorbs methanol from the gaseous mixture under lab-scale operating conditions of methanol synthesis and demonstrates good thermal stability.
