The large-scale methanol synthesis catalyst developed by Sinochem Southwest Research Institute passed the performance calibration at **the energy group’s 1.83 million tons per year large-scale methanol plant

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Performance calibration completed for Sinochem Southwest Institute’s large-scale methanol synthesis catalyst 2025-07-22 Recently, the large-scale methanol synthesis catalyst developed independently by Sinochem Southwest Chemical Research and Design Institute Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Sinochem Southwest Institute”) has been in use in an energy group’s 1.83 million tons per year methanol production facility for nearly 3 years; it has successfully passed the on-site performance calibration conducted by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation. It is reported that the results of the on-site evaluation showed that during the 72-hour testing period at the end of its operation, the XNC-98-5 methanol synthesis catalyst met all the requirements specified in the plant design and technical agreements regarding the consumption of purified gas per ton of methanol (on a pure basis), methanol production volume, the quality of MTO-grade methanol, key operational parameters of the methanol synthesis tower (such as operating pressure, pressure difference within the tower, inlet temperature, and temperature at the middle of the adiabatic layer at the outlet of the tower bed), as well as the flow rate of the recycle gas compressor. The reporter learned that this catalyst maintains excellent methanol conversion rates, methanol selectivity, and thermal stability even toward the end of its operational life. The operating temperature and pressure in the synthesis tower are both below the design values, allowing the catalyst to meet the requirement of a service life of 3 years or more. Furthermore, the operational results of the methanol synthesis catalyst over its entire lifetime show that key parameters such as bed pressure drop, MTO methanol quality, and specific consumption of purified gas are superior to those of the catalyst used at the inlet of the previous reactor. The XNC-98-5 methanol synthesis catalyst developed by Sinochem Southwest Research Institute has successfully enabled the domestic substitution of imported methanol synthesis catalysts in ultra-large-scale methanol plants. It is reported that Sinochem Southwest Research Institute was the first in China to conduct research on low-pressure methanol synthesis processes and catalysts in the late 1970s. In September 2022, the methanol synthesis catalyst developed by Sinochem Southwest Research Institute was first used in this facility; subsequently, **another two large-scale methanol synthesis plants owned by the Energy Group also adopted this catalyst. This move breaks foreign technological monopolies and enhances independent innovation capabilities, holding great significance for achieving self-control over the core catalysts used in large-scale coal-to-methanol plants.