Methanol From Electricity, Water and Carbon Dioxide: Operational Results

A chemical reactor has been developed that takes only carbon dioxide, water and electricity as inputs and produces a mixture of methanol and water. The system includes an electrolyzer that splits water into oxygen and hydrogen; and data logging capabilities for four temperatures probes, two pressure probes and three flow rates. The methanol synthesis unit was run under a number of flow conditions to help characterize its operation. One day of continuous temperature, pressure and flow rate data from the reactor will be presented to illustrate the system robustness. Finally, synchronized flow, temperature, and pressure data will be presented for the system as it undergoes step changes in the synloop flow rate. The results show that the flow rate through the reactor strongly influences the reactor temperature, which, in turn, influences the rate of methanol production.