Can synthetic catalysts become saturated?

There is a limit; when the air velocity and gas flow rate are increased, the increase in methanol production is much smaller than the increase in those flow rates, while the energy consumption due to resistance increases in a proportional manner. In industry, a balance is found between methanol production, space velocity, and resistance to achieve economical operation.

Have all the using units had similar experiences as well?

1. Increasing the gas volume means increasing the space velocity; once the space velocity meets the requirements of the catalyst, further increasing it holds little significance. 2. An increase in space velocity reduces the methanol content at the outlet of the synthesis tower. Increasing the air velocity and methanol production will reach a near-equilibrium ； 3. When the gas flow exceeds the system’s capacity, the system pressure rises; the methanol production does not decrease but instead increases. However, the extent of this increase is not proportional to the increase in gas flow ； 4. After the above situations occur, it is necessary to increase the capacity of the synthesis system; simply increasing the gas flow rate is not sufficient to resolve the issue ； 5. I have had similar experiences in both ammonia synthesis and methanol production. Just my personal opinion, for reference only: L

There is a limit value; theoretically, the air velocity can be 10,000. When the air velocity and volume of air are increased further, the corresponding increase is much smaller than the increase in those values, while the resistance and energy consumption increase in a proportional manner. If the space velocity is too high, the methanol production will not increase accordingly; it remains within the range of 10,000. Therefore, we need to find a balance between methanol production, space velocity, and resistance in order to achieve efficient operation that is both energy-saving and productive.

I think there should be a limit value, which is the maximum space velocity at which the catalyst can be used

The question raised by the original poster is quite funny. If it were possible to increase the amount of gas fed into the tower without any restrictions, then everyone would increase the air velocity. But can you control the pressure difference? Is the compressive strength of your catalyst high enough?

The post posted by the original poster lacks theoretical foundation and practical experience. It’s not worth discussing! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Once the production capacity of the device and the type of catalyst have been chosen, any adjustments will have little effect; the design is what determines everything. This post was last edited by LTY-YYX on 2009-4-2 09:03]

Production facilities have a certain capacity; no matter how large the gas flow is, it cannot increase the output.

:Lol, the gas production volume of our synthesis unit matches the designed volume exactly; however, increasing the gas volume does not result in a significant increase in methanol output. Is it really possible for the designs created by the design institute to be that accurate? :L

:$ What’s the point of designing if it’s not accurate! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Each catalyst has its own level of activity. In my opinion, when the activity of a catalyst declines over time, increasing the load or the space velocity may not result in any significant change in the amount of methanol produced

There is a limit, which is related to the air velocity.

As the air velocity increases, the amount of air entering the tower rises, and many conditions change. When you increase the air velocity, many conditions favorable for synthesis are weakened, such as the hydrogen-to-carbon ratio of the gas entering the tower. So after increasing the airspeed, you still must remedy these weakening conditions. Such as maintaining the temperature of the synthesis tower and increasing the amount of fresh gas to raise the hydrogen-to-carbon ratio of the gas entering the tower. Only by doing these well can your output increase. The synthetic system is cohesive; pulling one thread affects the whole. It is unrealistic to try to adjust it using just one adjustment value. One more thing to advise the original poster: an increase in production cannot be achieved by exceeding the set targets. You still need to make up for the production volume that exceeds the design capacity. Such as shortened catalyst lifespan, equipment damage, increased maintenance time, etc. Stable production for 330 days a year is roughly the same as exceeding the target by producing for 270 days. Including damages to personnel and equipment, there might even be additional compensation required. In the chemical industry, the parameters cannot be changed arbitrarily. Chasing extremes is even less advisable!