HOW IS METHANOL MADE?

Methanol can be made from a wide array of feedstocks, making it one of the most flexible chemical commodities and energy sources available today, To make methanol, you need first to create synthesis gas, which has carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas as its main components.

While natural gas is most often used in the global economy, methanol has the distinct advantage of ‘polygeneration’ – whereby methanol can be made from any resource that can be converted first into synthesis gas. Through gasificati y hi jis gas can be pi duced from ything that is or ever was a plant. This includes biomass, agricultural and timber waste, solid municipal waste, and a number of other feedstocks.

In a typical plant, methanol production is carried out in two steps. The first step is to convert the feedstock natural gas into a synthesis gas stream consisting of CO, CO2,H20 and hydrogen. This is usually accomplished by the catalytic reforming of feed gas and steam. Partial oxidation is another possible route. The second step is the catalytic synthesis of methanol from the synthesis gas. Each of these steps can be carried out in a number of ways and various technologies offer a spectrum of possibilities which may be most suitable for any desired application.

CHAIN LENGTH

Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with the formula CH3OH (often abbreviated MeOH). It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to, but slightly sweeter than, ethanol (drinking alcohol).[4] At room temperature, it is a polar liquid, and is used as an antifreeze, solvent, fuel, and as a denaturant for ethanol. It is also used for producing biodiesel via transesterification reaction.

Increasing chain length furthermore tends to decrease chain mobility, increase strength and toughness, and increase the glass transition temperature (Tg)[citation needed]. This is a result of the increase in chain interactions such as Van der Waals attractions and entanglements that come with increased chain length[citation needed]. These interactions tend to fix the individual chains more strongly in position and resist deformations and matrix breakup, both at higher stresses and higher temperatures[citation needed].

Natural gas is the feedstock used in most of the world’sproduction of methanol. Methanol is a primary liquid petrochemical made from renewable and nonrenewable fossil fuels containing carbon and hydrogen

Conventional steam reforming is the simplest and most widely practiced route to synthesis gas production:

2 CH4 + 3 H20 -> CO + CO2 + 7 H2 (Synthesis Gas)
CO + CO2 + 7 H2 -> 2 CH3OH + 2 H2 + H20
This process results in a considerable hydrogen surplus, as can be seen.

If an external source of CO2 is available, the excess hydrogen can be consumed and converted to additional methanol, The most favorable gasification processes are those in which the surplus hydrogen is “burnt” to water, during which steam reforming is igh the following partial oxidation reaction:

CH4 + ‘402 -> CO + 2 H2 -> CH3OH
CH4 + O2 -> CO2+2H2

The carbon dioxide and hydrogen produced in the last equation would then react with an additional hydrogen from the top set of reactions to produce additional methanol. This gives the highest efficiency, but may be at additional capital cost.

Unlike the reforming process, the synthesis of methanol is highly exothermic, taking place over a catalyst bed at moderate temperatures. Most plant designs make use of this extra energy to generate electricity needed in the process.