KINETICS OF THE 3 PHASE METHANOL SYNTHESIS

The kinetics of the three-phase methanol synthesis, starting from carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen over a commercial Cu-Zn-Al catalyst suspended in squalane as the slurry liquid, were studied in a well-mixed, agitated slurry reactor at p=15- 40 bar and T=210-260°C. A kinetic model is selected, based on a dual-site adsorption mechanism and three reactions: methanol from CO, methanol from CO2 and the water-gas-shift reaction. It turns out that methanol from CO2 is the most important reaction under three-phase conditions. This kinetic model gives a good agreement with the experimental results.