Methanol Production via CO2 Reduction and Reforming
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methanol production methods from natural gas require increasing the size of the reformer to enhance methanol production capacity while also increasing CO2 emissions, which is undesirable.
Innovation Solution
A methanol production system and method that includes a reformer, a reduced-gas generator, and a methanol-containing gas generator, where CO2 is reduced to produce a reduced gas containing CO, which is then used to synthesize methanol, thereby improving production capacity without enlarging the reformer and reducing CO2 discharge.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the size of the reformer is increased to enhance methanol production capacity, then the methanol production capacity is improved, but the amount of CO2 emissions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent captures CO2 that would otherwise be emitted as waste and converts it into a useful resource by reducing it to CO in the reduced-gas generator. This CO is then fed to the methanol synthesizer to produce additional methanol, thereby transforming the harmful CO2 emission into a beneficial production input and resolving the contradiction between production capacity and emissions.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of discarding CO2 as waste from the reformer, the system recovers it by capturing the CO2 stream and processing it through the reduced-gas generator to produce CO, which is then utilized in methanol synthesis. This recovery approach allows the system to increase production capacity without proportionally increasing emissions.
2Productivity
If the size of the reformer is increased to enhance methanol production capacity, then the methanol production capacity is improved, but the reformer size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the methanol production system into separate functional modules: a reformer for producing reformed gas, a reduced-gas generator for converting CO2 to CO, and a methanol synthesizer for producing methanol. This segmentation allows the reformer to maintain its original size while the system as a whole achieves enhanced production capacity through the additional CO generation pathway.
Solution Approach 2:
The methanol synthesizer serves multiple functions: it processes reformed gas from the reformer and also utilizes CO from the reduced-gas generator. This multi-functionality allows the system to increase methanol production capacity without requiring a proportional increase in reformer size, as the synthesizer can utilize CO from multiple sources.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively increases methanol production while minimizing CO2 emissions without increasing the reformer's size, utilizing CO2 reduction and efficient heat management through combustion and electrolysis processes.
Implementation Method 1
a reformer including a reaction furnace configured to reform methane in a raw material gas to produce a reformed gas containing CO and H2
Implementation Method 2
a reduced-gas generator configured to reduce CO2 to produce a reduced gas containing CO
Implementation Method 3
a methanol-containing gas generator configured to produce a methanol-containing gas which contains methanol from a reformed gas produced in the reaction furnace and a reduced gas produced in the reduced-gas generator
Data Source
AI summary
A methanol production system of the present disclosure includes: a reformer including a reaction furnace configured to reform methane in a raw material gas to produce a reformed gas containing CO and H2; a reduced-gas generator configured to reduce CO2 to produce a reduced gas containing CO; and a methanol-containing gas generator configured to produce a methanol-containing gas which contains methanol from a reformed gas produced in the reaction furnace and a reduced gas produced in the reduced-gas generator.