A New Method of Low Temperature Methanol Synthesis

Low temperature methanol synthesis is a promising technique for the practical methanol industry. New developments of a new kind of low temperature methanol synthesis were reviewed, including the effects of feed gas, reaction solvent, supercritical media and catalyst modification. The reaction mechanism and kinetics were also summarized primarily. Carbon dioxide played an important role in this new kind of low temperature methanol synthesis. It reacted with hydrogen adsorbed on catalyst surface to form HCOOM, an important reaction intermediate. Alcohol solvent in the low temperature methanol synthesis performed not only a media, but also a homogeneous catalyst. The reaction of the adsorbed formate species with alcohol on Cu/ZnO catalyst surface proceeded according to the Rideal mechanism rather than Langmuir–Hinshelwood mechanism to form alkyl formate. The formation of alkyl formate from alcohol solvent and hydrogenation of such an alkyl formate were the key steps in low temperature methanol synthesis reaction. These results provided new insights into low temperature methanol synthesis.