Methanol catalyst from Southwest Research Institute used to produce 48,600 tons/m3 of crude alcohol at Shandong Mingquan

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The methanol catalyst developed by the Southwest Research Institute enabled Shandong Mingquan to produce 48,600 tons per cubic meter of crude methanol. According to information from the Southwest Research Institute, its XNC-98-5 methanol synthesis catalyst successfully passed the on-site performance testing at the end of its service life, conducted by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, in Shandong Mingquan Group Co., Ltd.’s 600,000 tons per year coal-based methanol production facility. At the time of calibration, the catalyst in this furnace had been operating at full capacity steadily for 55 months, producing a total of 3.25 million tons of crude methanol and 3.07 million tons of refined methanol. Based on a catalyst loading volume of 66.85 m3, 48,600 tons of crude methanol and 46,000 tons of refined methanol have been produced per cubic meter of catalyst. Currently, the catalyst in this furnace is still in use, and it is planned to shut down the furnace for replacement in April 2026. By then, the methanol synthesis catalyst from the Southwest Research Institute will set a new world record. During the performance evaluation at the end of 72 hours, the load rate of the unit remained stable at 99.04%; when there was an adequate supply of fresh gas, the load rate could reach 101.97%. The specific consumption of fresh gas was lower than the design values, and the pressure difference in the synthesis tower stayed at a low level. All these factors clearly demonstrate that the methanol synthesis catalyst developed by Southwest Research Institute possesses excellent activity and stability. Shandong Mingquan New Materials uses multi-nozzle gasification to produce 600,000 tons of methanol per year, 12,150 tons of sulfur per year, and 57.6 million standard cubic meters of hydrogen per year. The methanol synthesis catalyst developed by the Southwest Research Institute serves as a substitute for imported catalysts and has been used in several large-scale methanol production facilities in China. Multiple plants with a capacity of over 600,000 tons per year, such as XinAo New Energy, Gansu Huating, Xinjiang Guanghui, Shandong Mingshui, and Inner Mongolia Jiutai, all use catalysts produced by the Southwest Research Institute. Since 2022, the methanol synthesis catalysts developed by the Southwest Research Institute have been used in the 1.8 million tons per year methanol plants of Energy Group’s Xinjiang Chemical Industry, as well as in the 1.86 million tons per year methanol plant of Guoneng Yulin Chemical Industry and the 1.8 million tons per year methanol plant of Guoneng Baotou Coal Chemical Industry, successfully replacing foreign catalysts in these facilities. According to the Southwest Research Institute, its methanol synthesis catalysts have been successfully applied in over 160 methanol production units both domestically and internationally, covering methanol plants of various scales and using different gas sources.