The effects of higher oxygenates on methanol synthesis

In the current investigation the effects of higher oxygenate species on the methanol synthesis performance of various methanol synthesis catalysts were examined. Experiments were performed whereby a selected higher oxygenate (such as a carboxylic acid) was co-fed into a methanol synthesis system at low concentrations, and the results monitored by on-line GC analysis. Bulk changes in the morphology of the catalysts post reaction were investigated using XRD. Temperature programmed oxidations (TPO’s) were also performed on the catalysts post reaction to determine if carbon deposition occurred during reaction. Catalysts investigated include Rh/SiO2, Ir/SiO2, Pd/SiO2, Pd/Ca/SiO2 and an industrial methanol synthesis catalyst of a Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 formulation. The effect of the feed gas on the behaviour of the higher oxygenates were also investigated by varying the feed gas composition.