Separation Enhanced Methanol Synthesis from CO2 and H2

摘要: CO2 utilization has gained significant attention in recent years as a path towards circular carbon. Although many existing routes have been explored to various carbon products (eg methane, methanol, dimethyl ether), implementation is hindered by high production cost. In this work, an innovative membrane reactor concept, with integrated cooling element is introduced to improve overall production cost by increasing the production of methanol. Within this reactor, the products methanol and water are removed from the catalytic bed. They are transported through a hydrophilic membrane after the reaction and subsequently condensed on an internal cooling element. As a result, the thermodynamic equilibrium limitation in methanol synthesis can be overcome, leading to a separation enhanced reaction rate.