Industrial demonstration of methanol production via carbon dioxide hydrogenation was completed in collaboration with the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute
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The industrial demonstration of methanol production via carbon dioxide hydrogenation was completed through collaboration between the Shanghai Advanced Institute and other parties. Author/Source: Date: 2016-07-12 Clicks: 7 Over the past two years, the Shanghai Advanced Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has worked together with Shanghai Huayi Group to develop industrial technologies for producing methanol from carbon dioxide through hydrogenation. Building on the single-tube tests that involved nearly 1,200 hours of continuous operation, the R&D team and the design department have recently completed the development of the technical process package for the carbon dioxide to methanol production facility with a capacity of 100,000 to 300,000 tons per year. The hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to produce methanol allows for the use of CO2 as a raw material for chemical synthesis, thereby enabling the recycling of carbon and hydrogen sources ； On the other hand, it can be integrated with new energy electrolytic hydrogen production and the chlor-alkali industry to enable the storage of hydrogen resources. This process once sparked widespread discussions around the \"methanol economy\" worldwide. However, current catalysts used for converting carbon dioxide into methanol suffer from low conversion rates and selectivity. As a result, various companies and research institutions around the world, such as Topsoe in Denmark, Kansai Electric Power Company and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan, Linde in Germany, and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, are working on developing more efficient catalysts and related technologies. With the support of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Science and Technology Support Program, the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Strategic Nuclear Initiatives, and Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission’s key projects, the team from Shanghai Advanced Research Institute resolved the key issues in the scale-up production of catalysts by conducting in-depth research on the mechanisms of CO2 activation. Through cooperation with Shanghai Huayi Group, they managed to achieve a seamless and stable operation of the entire pilot-scale production process. To date, the technical package for methanol production from carbon dioxide at a capacity of 100,000–300,000 tons per year has been developed and approved by an expert panel, meeting the requirements for carrying out large-scale commercial demonstration applications. To date, **10 invention patents** have been filed related to this technology, and the performance of the catalysts as well as the results from single-tube tests exceed those reported in existing publications. This will facilitate the industrialization of the technology for producing methanol from carbon dioxide via hydrogenation, providing a possible solution for the utilization of carbon dioxide resources in our country.
The Shanxi Coal Chemistry Institute held a meeting to discuss the progress of research on the major provincial science and technology project related to coal-based technologies, focusing on the chemical conversion and utilization of carbon dioxide. Author/Source: Date: 2016-07-12 Clicks: 3 On June 23, the Shanxi Coal Chemistry Institute organized such a meeting. The meeting was chaired by Researcher Wang Junwei, the project leader, and Researcher Tan Yisheng, the lead scientist. Representatives from the Shanxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology, as well as partner institutions such as Shanxi University and Lu’an Group, attended the event. Guo Jiulin, head of the Social Development Department at the Shanxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology, spoke first. He emphasized the importance of converting and utilizing carbon dioxide for the development of a low-carbon economy in Shanxi Province, and expressed the hope that the Shanxi Coal Chemistry Institute would make contributions to low-carbon initiatives. Subsequently, the project leaders for each task under the “High-Value Chemical Conversion and Utilization of Carbon Dioxide” project gave detailed reports on the progress of their respective tasks. A 5L single-tube experiment was conducted for the hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol, achieving CO2 conversion rates of over 50% and methanol selectivity of over 80% ； Polyurethanes prepared from CO2 enabled the synthesis of various cyclic carbonates, and a prepolymer-based synthesis process was developed; the non-isocyanate polyurethanes thus produced had a tensile strength of 10–40 MPa and an elongation rate of 10%–180% ； In the synthesized isoparaffins, the i-HC/t-HC ratio exceeds 80% ； The carbon fixation rate in magnesium carbonate hydrate prepared by CO2 mineralization exceeds 93%. Project experts such as Ma Guozhang, Cheng Fangqin, Liao Hongqiang, and Shen Wenzhong also had in-depth discussions with the researchers on specific issues related to the research work, offering many valuable suggestions and recommendations. They encouraged everyone to pay attention to integrating their research findings with the market while carrying out their scientific research tasks, in order to promote the industrial application of those results. After listening to the reports, Guo Jiulin expressed satisfaction with the good progress made on various projects, affirmed the work carried out by Shanxi Coal Chemical Research Institute in the area of CO2 conversion and utilization, and suggested that more thorough and comprehensive analyses be conducted on the technical issues arising in the progress of these projects, so as to develop feasible solutions for the low-cost, large-scale conversion and utilization of CO2 as soon as possible. Jiang Dong, head of the Science and Technology Development Department at Shanxi Coal Chemistry Institute, expressed his gratitude to the leaders of the Shanxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology and relevant experts for their valuable suggestions on the project, and spoke highly of this meeting on the progress of major scientific and technological projects in Shanxi, which was held for the first time by Shanxi Coal Chemistry Institute. He emphasized that in project research, it is necessary not only to focus on the exploration and improvement of technologies but also to be good at summarizing existing progress, identifying key issues, and ensuring the smooth progress of the project.