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Production of methanol from methane and air
1. PRODUCTION OF
METHANOL FROM
METHANE AND AIR
V.RESHMA SONA, S.VIJAYALAKHSMI,
III YEAR, B.TECH CHEMICAL ENGINEERING,
ACT CAMPUS, ANNA UNIVERSITY.
2. ABSTRACT
Methanol can replace petrol and diesel
efficiently but its two step production
process is quite expensive and polluting.
Producing methanol directly from methane
(a major constituent of natural gas) and air
can make it a cheap, clean and green fuel
3. METHANOL
A revolutionary compound in chemical industry
Annual production – 70 million tones
Perfect solvent
Gasoline additive to increase octane number
Chemical feedstock for hundreds of chemicals
4. METHANOL – AS FUEL
High thermal efficiency
High fuel efficiency
Increased power output
Clean fuel – No toxic exhaust
High octane rating
Fuel for racing cars
High heat of vaporization
5. EXISTING METHANOL PRODUCTION
Methanol production is a two step process.
STEP I : STEAM REFORMING
Methane reacts with steam over nickel catalyst.
At 10-20atm pressure and 1080K
Synthesis gas ( CO + H2 ) is produced.
STEP II : METHANOL SYNTHESIS
Synthesis gas reacts over a fixed bed catalyst.
At 50atm pressure and 523K
Methanol is produced.
6. PROBLEM AND SOLUTION
PROBLEM:
Synthesis gas production requires high
temperature, high pressure, high cost.
100 million tons of natural gas are flared each year
during this process.
SOLUTION:
One step process
Directly converts methane to methanol
No synthesis gas production required.
7. LIMITATIONS
1) Side reactions occur
2) Need of a perfect catalyst
3) Reactive methanol forms other products
4) Poor selectivity of methanol
5) Full combustion of methane produces CO2
6) High stability of C-H bond (435 kJ/mol) in CH4
which makes the bond difficult to break.
8. NEW METHOD
Selective partial oxidation (SEP) of methane to
methanol
Oxidant : O2 in the presence of very small
amount of H2O2
Catalysts : Colloidal Au-Pd nanoparticles (3-5nm)
Methyl radicals formed break the C-H bond
9. RESULTS
Au- + 2CH4 + 1/2O2 = Au-(CH4) + CH3OH
methyl radicals
Au-(CH4) + 1/2O2 = Au- + CH3OH
Adding these reactions, we get,
CH4 + 1/2O2 = CH3OH
Au-Pd catalysts form methyl radicals, which break
the C-H bond, leading to methanol production.
10. ADVANTAGES
No side reactions - only methanol formation.
No methanol oxidation due to low temperature of
the reaction.
Highest selectivity of 92%
CO2, a greenhouse gas is not formed.
Low energy reaction
Methanol produced here is in an energy form which
is easier to transport
It is more efficient
11. CONCLUSION
Petrol reserves are depleting at a faster rate, so
methanol is the most promising fuel of future.
Methanol thus produced is cheap and green.
This method is simpler in use and can be
commercialized.
12. REFERENCES
[1]Walther, G., Quaade, U., & Horch, S. (2008). 'Methane oxidation on
supported gold catalysts'.
[2]“Why Methanol is a viable alternative fuel for India”(2017, August
7)Retrieved from http://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/energy-
speak/why-methanol-is-a-viable-alternative-fuel-for-india/2533
[3]Priyank Khirsariya & Raju K.Mewada (2012) , ‘Single Step Oxidation of
Methane to Methanol–Towards Better Understanding’, Procedia
Engineering, Volume 51, 2013, Pages 409-415
[4]Lemnouer Chibane and Brahim Djellouli (2011), ‘Methane Steam
Reforming Reaction Behaviour in a Packed Bed Membrane Reactor’,
International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications, Vol. 2 ,
No. 3 , June 2011.
[5] L. M. Zhou, Xue (1997), Partial Oxidation of Methane to Methanol with
Oxygen or Air in a Nonequilibrium Discharge Plasma, Plasma Chemistry
and Plasma Processing, Vol. 18, No. 3, 1998