WO2016063872A1 - メタノール製造方法及びメタノール製造装置 - Google Patents
メタノール製造方法及びメタノール製造装置 Download PDFInfo
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- WO2016063872A1 WO2016063872A1 PCT/JP2015/079580 JP2015079580W WO2016063872A1 WO 2016063872 A1 WO2016063872 A1 WO 2016063872A1 JP 2015079580 W JP2015079580 W JP 2015079580W WO 2016063872 A1 WO2016063872 A1 WO 2016063872A1
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
- C07C—ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
- C07C29/00—Preparation of compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to a carbon atom not belonging to a six-membered aromatic ring
- C07C29/15—Preparation of compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to a carbon atom not belonging to a six-membered aromatic ring by reduction of oxides of carbon exclusively
- C07C29/151—Preparation of compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to a carbon atom not belonging to a six-membered aromatic ring by reduction of oxides of carbon exclusively with hydrogen or hydrogen-containing gases
- C07C29/152—Preparation of compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to a carbon atom not belonging to a six-membered aromatic ring by reduction of oxides of carbon exclusively with hydrogen or hydrogen-containing gases characterised by the reactor used
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- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
- B01J23/00—Catalysts comprising metals or metal oxides or hydroxides, not provided for in group B01J21/00
- B01J23/70—Catalysts comprising metals or metal oxides or hydroxides, not provided for in group B01J21/00 of the iron group metals or copper
- B01J23/76—Catalysts comprising metals or metal oxides or hydroxides, not provided for in group B01J21/00 of the iron group metals or copper combined with metals, oxides or hydroxides provided for in groups B01J23/02 - B01J23/36
- B01J23/80—Catalysts comprising metals or metal oxides or hydroxides, not provided for in group B01J21/00 of the iron group metals or copper combined with metals, oxides or hydroxides provided for in groups B01J23/02 - B01J23/36 with zinc, cadmium or mercury
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
- B01J37/00—Processes, in general, for preparing catalysts; Processes, in general, for activation of catalysts
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
- B01J37/00—Processes, in general, for preparing catalysts; Processes, in general, for activation of catalysts
- B01J37/02—Impregnation, coating or precipitation
- B01J37/03—Precipitation; Co-precipitation
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- B01J8/00—Chemical or physical processes in general, conducted in the presence of fluids and solid particles; Apparatus for such processes
- B01J8/02—Chemical or physical processes in general, conducted in the presence of fluids and solid particles; Apparatus for such processes with stationary particles, e.g. in fixed beds
- B01J8/04—Chemical or physical processes in general, conducted in the presence of fluids and solid particles; Apparatus for such processes with stationary particles, e.g. in fixed beds the fluid passing successively through two or more beds
- B01J8/0492—Feeding reactive fluids
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
- B01J8/00—Chemical or physical processes in general, conducted in the presence of fluids and solid particles; Apparatus for such processes
- B01J8/02—Chemical or physical processes in general, conducted in the presence of fluids and solid particles; Apparatus for such processes with stationary particles, e.g. in fixed beds
- B01J8/04—Chemical or physical processes in general, conducted in the presence of fluids and solid particles; Apparatus for such processes with stationary particles, e.g. in fixed beds the fluid passing successively through two or more beds
- B01J8/0496—Heating or cooling the reactor
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
- C07C—ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
- C07C31/00—Saturated compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to acyclic carbon atoms
- C07C31/02—Monohydroxylic acyclic alcohols
- C07C31/04—Methanol
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
- B01J2208/00—Processes carried out in the presence of solid particles; Reactors therefor
- B01J2208/00008—Controlling the process
- B01J2208/00017—Controlling the temperature
- B01J2208/00106—Controlling the temperature by indirect heat exchange
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
- B01J2208/00—Processes carried out in the presence of solid particles; Reactors therefor
- B01J2208/00796—Details of the reactor or of the particulate material
- B01J2208/00893—Feeding means for the reactants
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
- C07B—GENERAL METHODS OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY; APPARATUS THEREFOR
- C07B61/00—Other general methods
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
- Y02P20/00—Technologies relating to chemical industry
- Y02P20/50—Improvements relating to the production of bulk chemicals
- Y02P20/52—Improvements relating to the production of bulk chemicals using catalysts, e.g. selective catalysts
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a methanol production method and a methanol production apparatus.
- Synthetic raw material gas a synthetic gas mainly composed of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen obtained by reforming it
- the reaction conditions are a pressure of 50 to 150 kg / cm 2 and a temperature of 160 to 300 ° C.
- the catalyst used is a catalyst mainly composed of copper / zinc.
- the methanol synthesis reaction is represented by the following formulas (1) and (2).
- Patent Document 1 states that there is a problem that a gas reactant partial pressure is increased in methanol synthesis at a low circulation ratio, which causes overreaction and generation of overheating of the catalyst bed.
- the synthesis raw material gas to be supplied is divided into two flows, and one flow is mixed with the recovered unreacted gas and then introduced into the first synthesis stage, and the other flow is changed to the first flow.
- Patent Document 1 proposes to synthesize methanol in a further synthesis stage before mixing with the outlet gas of the synthesis stage and separating the synthetic methanol.
- Patent Document 1 avoids overheating of the catalyst layer by adjusting the amount of methanol synthesis at the synthesis stage, and the circulation ratio expressed as the unreacted recovered gas flow rate with respect to the feed gas flow rate is 1 to 3. It can be lowered.
- Patent Document 2 shows that performing methanol synthesis under a low pressure has the advantage of reducing the load on the compressor and eliminating the need for a compressor at all, while requiring a large amount of catalyst, Alternatively, it describes the disadvantage that unreacted gas has to be circulated and used at a high circulation ratio.
- the technique described in Patent Document 2 has two synthesis towers in series and condenses and separates the outlet gas of each synthesis tower to reduce the circulation ratio to 4.0 or less. It is characterized by doing. In the example of this Patent Document 2, it is specifically shown that the circulation ratio is changed from 6.0 to 3.5.
- Patent Document 3 states that increasing the raw material partial pressure in the reactor leads to overreaction and high temperature.
- Patent Document 3 does not shorten the expected catalyst life, and as a technique for obtaining a large amount of objects by an economically valid technique, a plurality of reactors are arranged in a synthesis loop, and each reaction is performed.
- a technique has been proposed in which a separator is arranged after the reactor and the pressure is increased between the reactors by a method in which the raw material gas can be supplied before the plurality of reactors.
- Patent Document 3 enables the production of a desired product to be achieved while reducing the amount of circulating gas and controlling the catalyst layer temperature, thereby achieving an acceptable catalyst life. It is described. And in the Example, it is shown that 23% or about 28% of the circulating gas amount was reduced.
- the scale may be limited by the production limit of the reactor.
- the whole plant may be enlarged by arranging a plurality of reactors in parallel.
- Non-Patent Document 1 describes that water generated by methanol synthesis causes considerable catalyst activity deterioration.
- Non-Patent Document 2 describes the progress of methanol synthesis technology. More specifically, it is described that, in the methanol synthesis technology, the manufacturing process has been advanced mainly in pursuit of improvement in energy efficiency and economic efficiency by increasing the size of the plant. In addition, as a concomitant effect of a significant decrease in the amount of unreacted gas circulation, it is possible to reduce the amount of electricity and cooling water used, and to reduce the size of peripheral equipment such as piping, circulation devices and heat exchangers in the synthesis loop. It is described that it becomes.
- the methanol synthesis reaction is represented by the above formulas (1) and (2), and is known to be a molecular number reduction reaction and a highly exothermic reaction.
- the suitable reaction temperature range of the copper / zinc-based catalyst generally used at present is 220 to 280 ° C.
- the reaction temperature exceeds 280 ° C., there are disadvantages that the activity of the catalyst is lowered, the equilibrium methanol concentration is lowered, and undesirable side reaction products are increased. Therefore, in order to avoid overheating of the catalyst, at least one of limiting the reaction amount occurring in the catalyst layer and cooling the catalyst layer is required.
- Patent Document 1 is characterized in that the catalyst layer temperature can be appropriately maintained while the circulation ratio is lowered to 1 to 3 by distributing the amount of methanol to be synthesized to a plurality of reactors.
- Patent Document 1 As is apparent from the claims and drawings, unreacted gas is separated from the outlet gas of the first synthesis stage, and the unreacted gas is used as a raw material for the next stage synthesis stage. There is no technical idea of using it. Rather, the claims and drawings of Patent Document 1 only describe that the entire amount of the outlet gas of the first synthesis stage is supplied to the second synthesis stage, and the above technical idea is excluded. Yes.
- Patent Document 2 states that synthesis at a low pressure and a low circulation ratio is made possible by condensation separation of a product containing methanol between synthesis towers.
- the circulation ratio was only changed from 6.0 to 3.5, which did not lead to an improvement in the carbon yield.
- the process like patent document 2 with the intention of improving yield and reducing energy consumption, (1) increasing the synthesis pressure, (2) improving catalytic activity, or (3) If the circulation ratio is further reduced, there is a tendency that the deviation in the methanol production amount in each synthesis tower increases and at the same time, the deviation in the load applied to the catalyst tends to increase. A difference in catalyst deterioration occurs when the catalyst load becomes more uneven.
- Patent Document 3 describes that the desired product to be achieved can be produced while achieving an acceptable catalyst life by reducing the amount of circulating gas and controlling the catalyst bed temperature. However, the example only shows that the amount of circulating gas can be reduced to 72% or 77% with respect to the existing technology, and there is no description about the carbon yield.
- the carbon yield is not taken into account, even if the amount of circulating gas is reduced, the amount of raw material gas can be increased to maintain the production amount, and there is no technical innovation. Also, it is most convenient from the viewpoint of carbon yield to provide purge gas removal at the farthest position in the synthesis loop with respect to the makeup gas inlet.
- the purge gas extraction position in the synthesis loop is preferably just before the circulator.
- the process disclosed in Patent Document 3 is a process of boosting a gas (purge gas taken out from the synthesis loop) that does not need to be boosted by a circulator. This is not appropriate because the amount of processing gas in the circulator increases and the amount of energy used increases.
- the air temperature at the outlet of the cooler is set using only an air fin cooler without using a water-cooled heat exchanger for the purpose of reducing cooling water or reducing equipment costs
- the total amount of condensable gas to be introduced is increased if a circulator is disposed after the equipment used in the condensation separation process. In this case, the probability that condensed droplets are generated in the circulator increases. Generation of condensed droplets in the circulator causes mechanical failure and energy loss, and it is not appropriate to place the circulator at this position.
- Non-Patent Document 2 in general, the improvement of methanol synthesis technology from the viewpoint of the manufacturing process has been performed mainly in pursuit of improvement in energy efficiency and economic improvement by increasing the size of the plant. Yes.
- Patent Document 1 it is intended to increase the production of methanol, and it can be seen that improvement in economic efficiency is also demanded. From the flow of improvement of such methanol synthesis technology, it is obvious that the condensation and separation of the product between the synthesis stages as described in Patent Document 2 discharges a lot of energy to the environment. Going backwards.
- the amount of circulating gas is 3.5 times the amount of the raw material gas, and the amount of gas flowing while being cooled from the first synthesis tower outlet to the separator is the raw material gas. It becomes 3.5 times or more of the amount. Therefore, it is necessary to cool a large amount of gas, which is not preferable because the load on the cooler increases. Further, with regard to the parallelization performed when pursuing economic improvement by increasing the size of the plant, for example, when the reactors are paralleled, the amount of gas that can be introduced into the reactor increases, so that the size can be increased. However, such parallelization generally does not lead to yield improvement or circulation ratio reduction.
- the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in the synthesis of methanol, the temperature of the catalyst layer is set to an appropriate temperature range, and the amount of energy used is reduced by reducing the circulation ratio, thereby achieving a higher carbon yield.
- a specific process has a plurality of methanol synthesis steps, and introduces unreacted gas separated from the reaction mixture generated in the methanol synthesis step into the subsequent methanol synthesis step. Furthermore, the final unreacted gas separated from the reaction mixture generated in the final methanol synthesis process, partially removed as a purge gas, pressurized in a circulator, and mixed with a part of the makeup gas is converted into the first methanol synthesis process.
- Methanol production comprising a synthesis step of synthesizing methanol from a synthesis gas containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, and a separation step of separating unreacted gas from the reaction mixture obtained through the synthesis step
- a method comprising a synthesis loop comprising at least two of said synthesis steps and at least two of said separation steps; In the synthesis loop, the remaining gas obtained by removing the purge gas from the final unreacted gas separated from the final reaction mixture in the final separation step after the final synthesis step is pressurized with a circulator, and hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide are supplied.
- At least one of the at least two separation steps of the synthesis loop is a step of separating a liquid containing methanol generated by cooling the gaseous reaction mixture by a gas-liquid separator.
- the method for producing methanol according to [3] The method for producing methanol according to [1] or [2], wherein 40 to 70 mol% of the makeup gas is mixed with the first unreacted gas.
- the method for producing methanol according to 1. In any one of [1] to [4], in the first separation step, 75 to 96 mol% of methanol contained in the first reaction mixture and the first unreacted gas are separated.
- the method for producing methanol according to 1. [6]
- the circulation ratio which is the ratio of the molar flow rate of the remaining gas obtained by removing the purge gas from the final unreacted gas with respect to the molar flow rate of the makeup gas, is 0.6 to 2.0.
- [7] The method for producing methanol according to [6], wherein the circulation ratio is 0.8 to 1.5.
- the final synthesis step is a step of synthesizing methanol from the second mixed gas, or a second unreacted gas is separated from the second reaction mixture obtained in the step, and the second unreacted gas and
- the catalyst used in the synthesis step contains a copper atom and a zinc atom in an atomic ratio (copper / zinc) of 2.0 to 3.0 and an aluminum atom.
- the methanol manufacturing method as described in one.
- the catalyst used in the synthesis step includes an aqueous solution containing copper atoms and zinc atoms in an atomic ratio (copper / zinc) of 2.1 to 3.0, 3 to 20% by mass of alumina, and containing copper.
- a methanol production apparatus comprising: a reactor that synthesizes methanol from a synthesis gas containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide; and a separation device that separates unreacted gas from the reaction mixture obtained in the reactor. Having a synthesis loop comprising at least two of said reactors and at least two of said separation devices, wherein in said synthesis loop, the final unseparated from the final reaction mixture in a final separation device after the final reactor.
- the remaining gas obtained by removing the purge gas from the reaction gas is pressurized with a circulator, and 10 to 90 mol% of a makeup gas containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide is mixed to obtain a first mixed gas.
- a first separation device that separates the first unreacted gas and 10 to 90 mol% of the makeup gas to obtain a second mixed gas, and finally methanol.
- a steam drum is further provided, and in the first reactor, the reaction temperature of the catalyst layer is controlled by indirect heat exchange with the pressurized boiling water, and the pressurized boiling water is supplied to the final reactor and the first reactor.
- the apparatus further comprises at least two steam drums, wherein the pressurized boiling water is at least partially circulated between the final reactor and one of the at least two steam drums, and the first In the reactor, the reaction temperature of the catalyst layer is controlled by indirect heat exchange with pressurized boiling water, and the pressurized boiling water is communicated with the first reactor and another one of the at least two steam drums.
- the methanol production apparatus according to [15], wherein at least a part of the gas circulates between them.
- the final reactor separates the second unreacted gas from the reactor that synthesizes methanol from the second mixed gas, or the second reaction mixture obtained in the reactor, and the second unreacted gas.
- the methanol production apparatus according to any one of [15] to [17], which is a reactor for synthesizing methanol from a third mixed gas obtained by mixing a gas and a makeup gas.
- the temperature of the catalyst layer is set to an appropriate temperature range, the energy consumption is reduced by reducing the circulation ratio, a higher carbon yield is achieved, and the load per catalyst layer is also increased. It is possible to provide a methanol production method and a methanol production apparatus that reduce the deviation of the above.
- the present embodiment a mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter simply referred to as “the present embodiment”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as necessary.
- the present invention is limited to the following embodiment. It is not a thing.
- the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof.
- the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.
- the positional relationship such as up, down, left and right is based on the positional relationship shown in the drawings unless otherwise specified.
- the dimensional ratios in the drawings are not limited to the illustrated ratios.
- the methanol production method of the present embodiment includes a synthesis step of synthesizing methanol from a synthesis gas containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, and a separation step of separating unreacted gas from a reaction mixture obtained through the synthesis step.
- a synthesis loop having at least two synthesis steps and at least two separation steps, wherein the synthesis loop separates from the final reaction mixture in a final separation step after the final synthesis step
- the remaining gas obtained by removing the purge gas from the final unreacted gas is pressurized with a circulator and mixed with 10 to 90 mol%, preferably 10 to 70 mol% of the makeup gas containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.
- the first mixing step for obtaining the first mixed gas, the first synthesis step for synthesizing methanol from the first mixed gas, and the first synthesis step obtained by the first synthesis step A first separation step of separating the first unreacted gas from the reaction mixture, and the first unreacted gas and at least a part of the makeup gas, preferably 10 to 90 mol%, preferably 30 to 90 mol%, are mixed
- a second mixing step for obtaining a second mixed gas, a final synthesis step for finally synthesizing methanol, and a final separation step for separating the final unreacted gas from the final reaction mixture obtained in the final synthesis step At least in the final synthesis step, the reaction temperature of the catalyst layer is controlled by indirect heat exchange with pressurized boiling water.
- the methanol manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment is an apparatus used for said methanol manufacturing method. More specifically, the methanol production apparatus of this embodiment separates unreacted gas from a reactor that synthesizes methanol from synthesis gas containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, and a reaction mixture obtained in the reactor. And a separation apparatus comprising a synthesis loop comprising at least two reactors and at least two separation apparatuses, wherein the final reaction in the final separation apparatus after the final reactor in the synthesis loop The remaining gas obtained by removing the purge gas from the final unreacted gas separated from the mixture is pressurized with a circulator, and 10 to 90 mol%, preferably 10 to 70 mol, of the makeup gas containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.
- a first mixing means for obtaining a first mixed gas by mixing with 1%, a first reactor for synthesizing methanol from the first mixed gas, and a first reactor
- a first separator for separating the first unreacted gas from the first reaction mixture obtained, and at least a part of 10 to 90 mol%, preferably 30 to 90 mol% of the first unreacted gas and the makeup gas
- a second mixing means for obtaining a second mixed gas, a final reactor for finally synthesizing methanol, and a final separator for separating the final unreacted gas from the final reaction mixture obtained in the final reactor
- a methanol production apparatus that controls the reaction temperature of the catalyst layer by indirect heat exchange with pressurized boiling water at least in the final reactor.
- At least one separation step is provided before the final synthesis step.
- a reaction product containing methanol and an unreacted synthesis gas (hereinafter “unreacted gas”) are obtained from the reaction mixture obtained in the immediately preceding synthesis step.
- unreacted gas an unreacted synthesis gas
- methanol is synthesized from the mixed gas obtained by mixing the makeup gas with the unreacted gas.
- the synthesis loop is configured such that the gas that has undergone at least one synthesis step and at least one separation step undergoes the final synthesis step and the final separation step, and the unreacted gas separated in the final separation step is a circulator. And is used as a raw material gas in the first synthesis step.
- the makeup gas is divided into a plurality of flows and then introduced into the synthesis loop from the mixing step before each synthesis step.
- reaction mixture is an exit component of the synthesis step, which is a mixture of components generated by the reaction in the synthesis step and unreacted components, and usually contains methanol.
- the position where the purge gas is taken out in the synthesis loop is preferably a point where the pressure in the synthesis loop is low, and more preferably just before the circulator.
- the final synthesis step is a step of synthesizing methanol from a mixed gas obtained by mixing the unreacted gas and the makeup gas separated from the reaction mixture that has undergone the synthesis step of synthesizing methanol after the first synthesis step. If there is, it will not be specifically limited.
- the final synthesis step is preferably a step of synthesizing methanol from the second mixed gas (second synthesis step).
- the third synthesis gas obtained by separating the second unreacted gas from the second reaction mixture obtained in the second synthesis step and mixing the second unreacted gas and the makeup gas in the final synthesis step. Therefore, the step of synthesizing methanol (third synthesis step) is also preferable.
- the final synthesis step is more preferably the second synthesis step.
- the final separation step is not particularly limited as long as it is a step of separating unreacted gas from the reaction mixture after the first separation step.
- the final separation step is preferably a second separation step in which the second unreacted gas is separated from the second reaction mixture obtained in the second synthesis step.
- the final separation step is preferably a third separation step in which the third unreacted gas is separated from the third reaction mixture obtained in the third synthesis step.
- the final separation step is more preferably the second separation step.
- Make-up gas is a synthetic raw material gas containing carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and hydrogen (H 2 ), such as natural gas steam reforming gas and coal gasification gas, up to the reaction pressure by a compressor.
- Boosted The reaction pressure may be, for example, 4.9 to 14.7 MPa-G (50 to 150 kg / cm 2 -G), and more preferably 7.8 to 10.8 MPa-G (80 to 110 kg / cm 2). -G).
- M (H 2 mol%) / (2 ⁇ CO mol% + 3 ⁇ CO 2 mol%)
- M is 1.3 to 1.5.
- the makeup gas is divided into a plurality of flows before being introduced into the synthesis loop, and is introduced into the synthesis loop as part of the raw material gas in the plurality of synthesis steps existing in the synthesis loop.
- the preferred range of the makeup gas split ratio varies depending on the synthesis conditions in each synthesis step and the separation conditions in each separation step.
- the molar flow rate of the makeup gas contained in the mixed gas (first mixed gas) supplied to the first methanol synthesis step (first synthesis step) is 10 to 90 mol% with respect to the total amount of makeup gas, Preferably, it is 10 to 70 mol%.
- the molar flow rate of the makeup gas contained in the mixed gas (second mixed gas) supplied to the second synthesis step is 10 to 90 mol%, preferably 10 to 70 mol% with respect to the total amount of the makeup gas. is there.
- the sum of the molar flow rates of the makeup gas supplied to the first synthesis step and the second synthesis step is less than 100% of the total amount of the makeup gas
- the remaining makeup gas is appropriately divided into each methanol synthesis step after the third synthesis step.
- the makeup gas is not dividedly supplied to each methanol synthesis step after the third synthesis step.
- a case of a production method having two synthesis steps and two condensation separation steps using a condensation separation method as a separation method in the separation step will be described.
- the outlet gas temperature in the first condensation / separation step is set to 20 ° C.
- the ratio of the makeup gas introduced into the synthesis loop immediately before the final synthesis step (second synthesis step) makes-up
- the ratio to the total amount of gas is preferably 10 to 90 mol%, more preferably 30 to 90 mol%, and still more preferably 40 from the viewpoint of the carbon yield and the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer. ⁇ 70 mol%.
- the proportion of the makeup gas introduced into the synthesis loop immediately before the final synthesis step is 10 to 90 from the same viewpoint as described above. It is preferable that the amount be 30% by mole, preferably 30 to 90% by mole, more preferably 40 to 70% by mole, and still more preferably 45 to 65% by mole.
- the synthesis gas used as the raw material gas in the synthesis process is preferably heated to 180 to 260 ° C. by a preheater and then supplied to the synthesis process.
- the synthesis gas temperature at the time of supply to the synthesis step is appropriately set according to the type and amount of the catalyst, the shape of the reactor, the reaction pressure, etc., but the preferred synthesis gas temperature is 200 to 230 ° C.
- the ratio (split ratio) of the makeup gas mixed in the unreacted gas in each mixing step is preferable to adjust the ratio (split ratio) of the makeup gas mixed in the unreacted gas in each mixing step according to the desired temperature of each reactor in the synthesis step.
- the desired temperature is a temperature in a methanol synthesis reaction described later.
- the makeup gas can be divided into a plurality of flows before introduction into the synthesis loop, and the division ratio can be adjusted. Thereby, the temperature of the reactor in the synthesis process can be easily controlled.
- the reactor used in the synthesis step preferably has a catalyst layer and a mechanism for removing heat generated by the reaction from the catalyst layer (heat removal mechanism).
- the catalyst used for the synthesis is preferably a methanol synthesis catalyst containing copper atoms and zinc atoms as essential components.
- a catalyst is reduced from an oxide state by a reducing gas such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, or a mixed gas thereof, whereby copper is activated to have catalytic activity.
- the catalyst may contain an aluminum atom and / or a chromium atom as the main third component.
- the catalyst containing copper and zinc as essential components can be prepared by a known method.
- Such a catalyst is prepared, for example, by the methods described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-44715, Japanese Patent No. 2695663, Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-35401, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-272361, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-205089. can do.
- a preferred catalyst is a methanol synthesis catalyst containing a copper atom and a zinc atom in an atomic ratio (copper / zinc) of 2.0 to 3.0 and an aluminum atom.
- Specific examples of preferred catalysts include the catalysts used in Examples and Comparative Examples of International Publication No. 2011/048976, for example, Examples 2 and 3.
- a more preferable atomic ratio (copper / zinc) of copper atom and zinc atom in the catalyst is in the range of 2.1 to 3.0.
- a methanol synthesis catalyst containing 3 to 20% by mass of alumina is more preferable.
- such a catalyst can be prepared, for example, by the method described in International Publication No. 2011/048976. More specifically, for example, a step of mixing an aqueous solution containing copper, an aqueous solution containing zinc, and an aqueous alkaline solution to form a precipitate containing copper and zinc, and the obtained precipitate and alumina having a pseudoboehmite structure It is prepared by a production method having a step of mixing with a hydrate to obtain a mixture, and a step of molding the obtained mixture to a density of 2.0 to 3.0 g / mL.
- examples of the molding method include tableting, extrusion molding, and rolling granulation.
- the catalyst used in the present embodiment is not limited to the above catalyst and the catalyst prepared by the above preparation method, and may be another catalyst having equivalent methanol synthesis activity.
- a method for removing heat from the catalyst layer a method of indirectly exchanging heat between the catalyst layer and the pressurized boiling water using pressurized boiling water as a coolant is preferable.
- the pressurized boiling water is water that boils so that latent heat can be used when heat is removed from the catalyst layer.
- a heat removal mechanism according to such a heat removal method for example, a cooling mechanism for circulating pressurized boiling water in a countercurrent direction or a parallel flow direction with respect to the gas flow direction of the catalyst layer, and a catalyst layer A cooling mechanism for circulating pressurized boiling water in a form orthogonal to the gas flow direction can be mentioned.
- a multi-tubular reactor having an inner pipe parallel to the gas flow direction of the catalyst layer, forming a catalyst layer inside the inner pipe, and circulating a coolant outside the inner pipe.
- a multi-tube reactor having an inner pipe parallel to the gas flow direction of the catalyst layer, forming the catalyst layer outside the inner pipe, and circulating the coolant inside the inner pipe, and the gas flow of the catalyst layer Examples include an interlayer cooling reactor in which a coolant is circulated in an inner pipe arranged in a direction orthogonal to the direction.
- the temperature of pressurized boiling water as a coolant is preferably 210 to 260 ° C.
- a preferred use destination of steam generated from pressurized boiling water is raw material steam for steam reforming reaction of natural gas.
- the pressure of the boiling water is preferably higher than the pressure of a general steam reforming reaction (1.5 to 2.5 MPa-G (15 to 25 kg / cm 2 -G)).
- the temperature of the pressurized boiling water is more preferably 220 to 240 ° C., for example.
- the reaction temperature of the catalyst layer may be controlled by indirect heat exchange with pressurized boiling water at least in the final synthesis step, but in all synthesis steps, the catalyst layer is heated by indirect heat exchange with pressurized boiling water. It is preferable to control the reaction temperature.
- the temperature of the pressurized boiling water in each reactor may mutually be the same, or may differ.
- the methanol synthesis reaction in the synthesis step is performed, for example, under conditions of a pressure of 4.9 to 14.7 MPa-G (50 to 150 kg / cm 2 -G) and a temperature of 200 to 300 ° C. And preferred.
- the pressure and temperature in the methanol synthesis reaction are more preferably a pressure of 7.8 to 10.8 MPa-G (80 to 110 kg / cm 2 -G) and a temperature of 200 to 280 ° C., more preferably a pressure of 7.8. 10.8 MPa-G (80-110 kg / cm 2 -G), temperature 200-270 ° C.
- the ratio of the maximum amount to the minimum amount of methanol production in each methanol synthesis step is preferably 1 to 3, more preferably 1 to 2.
- the separation step In the separation step, unreacted gas is separated from the reaction mixture containing the reaction product obtained through the synthesis step. In other words, methanol or methanol and water contained in the reaction mixture and unreacted gas are separated.
- the separation method include a condensation separation method in which an outlet gas from the synthesis step is cooled and a condensate generated by the cooling is separated by a gas-liquid separator, and a membrane separation method using a separation membrane. Then, the condensation separation method is preferable.
- at least two separation steps (condensation separation step) using the condensation separation method are provided in the synthesis loop, and one of them is a final condensation separation step after the final synthesis step. It is preferable.
- the fluid cooled in the condensation / separation step is an outlet gas (gaseous reaction mixture) from the synthesis step before the condensation / separation step, and contains synthesized methanol.
- Examples of the method for obtaining a liquid containing methanol as a condensate include mutual heat exchange with the synthesis gas supplied to the reactor, air cooling with an air fin cooler, and cooling with a coolant such as cooling water and brine. .
- a method of obtaining a condensate may be used singly or in combination of two or more.
- the resulting condensate is generally separated using a gas-liquid separator (hereinafter also simply referred to as “separator”).
- coolers condensers
- separators may be a combination of one cooler and one separator, or a combination of multiple coolers and separators. Also good.
- a plurality of coolers and separators are combined, for example, the one described in JP-A-61-257934 can be cited.
- the condenser is divided into two stages, and the heat transfer surface of the condenser in the previous stage
- Examples include a method in which the temperature is set to a temperature not higher than the dew point of the reaction mixture and not lower than the melting point of the paraffins contained in the reaction mixture, and the heat transfer surface temperature of the subsequent condenser is set to 60 ° C. or lower.
- the first condensing and separating step is a step of condensing and separating the outlet gas (gaseous reaction mixture) from the first synthesizing step, and is provided after the first synthesizing step.
- methanol is preferably 35 to 100 mol%, more preferably 35 to 99 mol%, and even more preferably 75 to 96 mol% of methanol contained in the outlet gas from the first synthesis step. Methanol is withdrawn from the synthesis loop.
- the reaction mixture is cooled until a predetermined amount of methanol or a condensate containing methanol and water is produced by cooling.
- a fluid reaction mixture having a methanol partial pressure of 0.69 to 0.88 MPa-G (7.0 to 9.0 kg / cm 2 -G), preferably 20 to 100 ° C., More preferably, it is preferably cooled to 40 to 80 ° C.
- the separation ratio of methanol contained in the outlet gas from the first synthesis step is preferably higher than 75 mol%.
- the separation ratio of methanol contained in the outlet gas from the first synthesis step in the first condensation / separation step is lower than 96 mol%.
- the target temperature after cooling of the reaction mixture is preferably 55 to 90 ° C. from the same viewpoint.
- the amount of water supplied to the reactor is reduced in the synthesis step that follows the separation step.
- sintering of the copper particles considered to be the active point of the catalyst is suppressed, so that the effect of extending the catalyst life is assumed.
- the balance of the reaction amount in the synthesis step before and after the separation step As a result, the catalyst can be used more effectively.
- the separation step between the plurality of synthesis steps 4 to 25 mol% of the methanol contained in the outlet gas from the synthesis step before the separation step is not separated and supplied to the subsequent synthesis step. It is also possible to control the reaction in the subsequent synthesis step and suppress overheating of the catalyst layer. In this case, the amount of condensable gas that is not removed in the separation step increases. Therefore, it is inappropriate to place a circulator between the separator used in this separation step and the subsequent reactor to increase the pressure of this gas because the possibility of condensation in the circulator increases.
- the exit gas from the final synthesis process is supplied to the final separation process.
- the final separation step preferably 80 to 96 mol%, more preferably 93 to 96 mol% of the methanol contained in the outlet gas (gaseous reaction mixture) from the final synthesis step is separated.
- the outlet gas from the final synthesis step is preferably cooled to 20 ° C. to 50 ° C., for example, 45 ° C., and the gas phase (unreacted gas) and liquid phase are And separated.
- a part of the unreacted gas (final unreacted gas) separated as a gas phase component is removed out of the system as a purge gas, and the remainder is increased to the reaction pressure through a circulator as the circulating gas. 1 is supplied to the synthesis process.
- the reason why a part of the gas is extracted out of the synthesis loop as the purge gas is to remove inactive components accumulated in the synthesis loop.
- the purge gas flow rate at this time may be appropriately adjusted so that the circulation ratio described later is within a desired value.
- the circulation ratio is defined by the molar flow rate of the circulating gas with respect to the molar flow rate of the makeup gas.
- the molar flow rate of the circulating gas is the molar flow rate of the remaining gas obtained by removing the purge gas from the final unreacted gas.
- the reaction product containing methanol separated in each separation step in the synthesis loop is taken out as crude methanol.
- the purge gas extraction position in the synthesis loop is preferably a point where the pressure in the synthesis loop is low, and more preferably just before the circulator.
- it is preferable that a part of the unreacted gas after the reaction product in the reaction mixture is separated and extracted out of the synthesis loop is branched as a purge gas. It is more preferable that it is before the upgas merging.
- the separation step between the plurality of synthesis steps 4 to 25 mol% of the methanol contained in the outlet gas from the synthesis step before the separation step is not separated and supplied to the subsequent synthesis step. It is also possible to control the reaction in the subsequent synthesis step and suppress overheating of the catalyst layer. In this case, it is not appropriate to place a circulator after the separator used in the separation step and before the reactor used in the subsequent synthesis step because condensation may occur in the circulator. From these viewpoints, the circulator is preferably positioned such that the remaining gas obtained by removing the purge gas from the unreacted gas after the final separation step is circulated to the location where the gas is mixed in the first mixing step.
- the circulation ratio in the methanol synthesis process is defined by the ratio of the molar flow rate of the circulating gas to the molar flow rate of the makeup gas.
- the circulation ratio is preferably 0.6 or more and 2.0 or less, more preferably 0.8 or more and 1.5 or less. Comparing the gas composition of the makeup gas and the circulating gas, the makeup gas generates more heat in the catalyst layer because the content of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, which are raw materials for methanol synthesis, which is an exothermic reaction, is higher. Easy to make. Therefore, by setting the circulation ratio to 0.6 or more, it is possible to further suppress the catalyst overheating mainly resulting from the makeup gas by dilution with the circulation gas.
- the circulation ratio to 2.0 or less, the energy efficiency of the entire process is improved. This is because by relatively increasing the molar flow rate of the makeup gas, among the components contained in the unreacted gas, it is possible to reduce the molar flow rate of hydrogen or the like that does not need to be cooled. This is because the load on the cooler can be reduced.
- the synthesis loop may have three or more mixing steps, three or more synthesis steps, and three or more separation steps.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a production apparatus used in the methanol production method of the present embodiment.
- This production apparatus includes reactors 23 and 28 that synthesize methanol from a synthesis gas containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, and a separation device that separates unreacted gas from the reaction mixture obtained in the reactors 23 and 28.
- It is a methanol production apparatus provided with the gas-liquid separators 26 and 31 which are.
- the methanol production apparatus has a synthesis loop including two reactors 23 and 28 and two gas-liquid separators (separation apparatuses) 26 and 31, and in the synthesis loop, the second reactor 28 is placed behind the second reactor 28.
- the remaining gas obtained by removing the purge gas from the second unreacted gas separated from the second reaction mixture in the second gas-liquid separator 31 is pressurized by the circulator 32, and a makeup gas containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide.
- a first mixing means (a joining portion of the line 5 and the line 3) for obtaining a first mixed gas by mixing with 10 to 90 mol% of the first reactor 23, a first reactor 23 for synthesizing methanol from the first mixed gas,
- a first gas-liquid separator 26 that separates the first unreacted gas from the first reaction mixture obtained in one reactor 23, and the first unreacted gas and 10 to 90 mol% of the makeup gas are mixed.
- the second reactor 28 for finally synthesizing methanol from the second mixed gas, and a second reaction mixture obtained from the second reactor 28 And a second gas-liquid separator 31 that separates unreacted gas, and in the reactors 23 and 28, methanol that controls the reaction temperature of the catalyst layers in the inner tubes 24 and 29 by indirect heat exchange with pressurized boiling water.
- the second reactor 28, the second gas-liquid separator 31, the second reaction mixture, and the second unreacted gas correspond to the final reactor, the final separator, the final reaction mixture, and the final unreacted gas, respectively. To do.
- the synthesis raw material gas containing CO, CO 2 and H 2 generated by the steam reforming reaction is introduced into the system from the line 1 and is pressurized to a predetermined pressure by the compressor 21.
- a predetermined amount of the pressurized synthesis raw material gas (makeup gas) flows through the line 3 and is mixed with the circulating gas from the line 5 and then supplied to the preheater 22.
- the mixed synthesis gas (mixed gas) is heat-exchanged in the preheater 22 with an outlet gas (reaction mixture) containing a reaction product that flows through the line 7 at the outlet of the reactor 23, so that a predetermined temperature is reached. And is supplied to the reactor 23 from the line 6.
- the rest of the makeup gas flows through line 4.
- the reactor 23 preferably has an inner tube 24 made of carbon steel, and the inner tube 24 is filled with a methanol synthesis catalyst containing copper and zinc as essential components to form a catalyst layer. Methanol is synthesized in the process in which the synthesis gas supplied from the line 6 into the reactor 23 passes through the catalyst layer in the inner tube 24.
- the pressure and temperature of the fluid in the catalyst layer may be within the range of the reaction and temperature in the methanol synthesis reaction.
- the outlet gas (reaction mixture) containing methanol that has flowed out of the reactor 23 into the line 7 is cooled in the preheater 22, and then further cooled to a dew point of methanol or lower by the condenser 25, thereby condensing methanol.
- the condensed fluid containing methanol is extracted out of the system from the line 9 with the condensed component as crude methanol by the gas-liquid separator 26, and the remaining gas phase component flows through the line 8.
- the gas circulated in the line 4 is mixed with the unreacted gas circulated in the line 8 from the gas-liquid separator 26, and then passed through the line 10 and the preheater 27, and from the line 11 to the reactor 28. Supplied to.
- the synthesis gas flowing in the line 10 is preheated to a predetermined temperature by heat exchange with the outlet gas containing the reaction product flowing in the line 12 at the outlet of the reactor 28 in the preheater 27.
- the reactor 28 preferably has an inner tube 29 made of carbon steel, and the inner tube 29 is filled with a methanol synthesis catalyst containing copper and zinc as essential components to form a catalyst layer. Methanol is synthesized in the process in which the synthesis gas supplied from the line 11 into the reactor 28 passes through the catalyst layer in the inner pipe 29.
- the pressure and temperature of the fluid in the catalyst layer may be within the range of the reaction and temperature in the methanol synthesis reaction.
- the outlet gas (reaction mixture) containing methanol that has flowed out of the reactor 28 to the line 12 is cooled in the preheater 27 and then cooled to a predetermined temperature by the condenser 30, whereby methanol is further condensed. .
- the condensed fluid containing methanol is extracted out of the line 14 from the line 14 with the condensed component as crude methanol in the gas-liquid separator 31, and the gas phase component (unreacted gas) flows through the line 13.
- an amount of unreacted gas having a predetermined circulation ratio merges with the makeup gas flowing from the line 16 through the circulator 32 through the line 5 to the line 3 as the circulating gas, It is circulated to the reactor 23.
- the remaining unreacted gas is withdrawn from the synthesis loop through the line 15 as a purge gas in order to remove inactive components accumulated in the synthesis loop.
- Cooling of the catalyst layer in reactor 23 and reactor 28 occurred by introducing boiler water from steam drum 33 into lines 23 and 45 to the respective reactors 23 and 28 and using it as pressurized boiling water. This is done in the process of recovering the fluid containing water vapor from the lines 44 and 46 to the steam drum 33, respectively.
- the steam generated by the reaction heat is taken out from the steam drum 33 to the line 42, and an amount of water that supplements the amount of steam is supplied from the line 41 to the steam drum 33.
- the steam taken out from the line 42 can be used as a raw material steam necessary for a steam reforming reaction when the raw material gas is generated from natural gas.
- FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing another example of a production apparatus used in the methanol production method of the present embodiment.
- a difference from the production apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is that a steam drum for boiler water used for cooling the catalyst layer is provided for each reactor. That is, the cooling of the catalyst layer in the reactor 23 is performed by introducing the boiler water from the steam drum 33 into the reactor 23 from the line 43 and using it as pressurized boiling water. This is done in the process of being collected by the steam drum 33. Water vapor generated by the reaction heat is taken out from the steam drum 33 to the line 42, and an amount of water that supplements the amount of water vapor is supplied from the line 41 to the steam drum 33.
- the cooling of the catalyst layer in the reactor 28 is a process in which boiler water from the steam drum 34 is introduced into the reactor 28 from the line 45, and the generated fluid containing water vapor is recovered from the line 46 to the steam drum 34. Made.
- the water vapor generated by the reaction heat is taken out from the steam drum 34 to the line 48, and an amount of water supplementing the amount of water vapor is supplied from the line 47 to the steam drum 34.
- the steam taken out from the line 42 and the line 48 is used as a raw material steam necessary for a steam reforming reaction when the raw material gas is produced from natural gas.
- FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing still another example of a production apparatus used in the methanol production method of the present embodiment.
- a difference from the production apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is that three mixing means, three reactors, and three gas-liquid separators are provided.
- unreacted gas is produced from reactors 23a, 23b and 23c for synthesizing methanol from synthesis gas containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, and reaction mixtures obtained in the reactors 23a, 23b and 23c.
- It is a methanol production apparatus provided with gas-liquid separators 26a, 26b, and 26c, which are separation devices for separation.
- This methanol production apparatus has a synthesis loop including three reactors 23a, 23b, and 23c and three gas-liquid separators (separation apparatuses) 26a, 26b, and 26c.
- the third reactor The remaining gas obtained by removing the purge gas from the third unreacted gas separated from the third reaction mixture in the third gas-liquid separator 26c after 23c is pressurized by the circulator 32, and hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide are supplied.
- a first mixing means for obtaining a first mixed gas by mixing with 10 to 70 mol% of the makeup gas contained therein (a joining portion of the line 5 and the line 3a), and a first reactor for synthesizing methanol from the first mixed gas 23a, a first gas-liquid separator 26a for separating the first unreacted gas from the first reaction mixture obtained in the first reactor 23a, and 10 to 70 mol of first unreacted gas and makeup gas.
- a second mixing means for obtaining a second mixed gas (a joining portion of the line 3b and the line 8a), a second reactor 23b for synthesizing methanol from the second mixed gas, and a second reactor 23b
- the second gas-liquid separator 26b for separating the second unreacted gas from the second reaction mixture obtained in step 3 and the second unreacted gas and 20 to 80 mol% of the makeup gas are mixed to form a third mixed gas.
- a third mixing means (a joining part of the line 3c and the line 8b), a third reactor 23c for finally synthesizing methanol from the third mixed gas, and a third reaction obtained in the third reactor 23c.
- the third reactor 23c, the third gas-liquid separator 26c, the third reaction mixture, and the third unreacted gas correspond to the final reactor, the final separator, the final reaction mixture, and the final unreacted gas, respectively. To do.
- the synthesis raw material gas containing CO, CO 2 and H 2 generated by the steam reforming reaction is introduced into the system from the line 1 and is pressurized to a predetermined pressure by the compressor 21.
- a predetermined amount of the pressurized synthesis raw material gas (make-up gas) flows through the line 3a, another predetermined amount flows through the line 3b, and the rest flows through the line 3c.
- the gas flowing through the line 3a is mixed with the circulating gas from the line 5 and then supplied to the preheater 22a.
- the mixed synthesis gas (mixed gas) is subjected to heat exchange in the preheater 22a with an outlet gas (reaction mixture) containing a reaction product flowing in the line 7a at the outlet of the reactor 23a, so that a predetermined temperature is obtained. And is supplied to the reactor 23a from the line 6a.
- the reactor 23a preferably has an inner tube 24a made of carbon steel, and the inner tube 24a is filled with a methanol synthesis catalyst containing copper and zinc as essential components to form a catalyst layer.
- Methanol is synthesized in the process in which the synthesis gas supplied from the line 6a into the reactor 23a passes through the catalyst layer in the inner tube 24a.
- the pressure and temperature of the fluid in the catalyst layer may be within the range of the reaction and temperature in the methanol synthesis reaction.
- the outlet gas (reaction mixture) containing methanol flowing out from the reactor 23a to the line 7a is cooled in the preheater 22a, it is further cooled below the dew point of methanol by the condenser 25a, so that condensation of methanol is promoted.
- the condensed fluid containing methanol is extracted from the line 9a out of the system as a condensed methanol in the gas-liquid separator 26a, and the remaining gas phase is circulated in the line 8a.
- the gas that has been circulated in the line 3b is mixed with the unreacted gas that has circulated in the line 8a from the gas-liquid separator 26a, and then the line 6b to the reactor 23b via the line 4b and the preheater 22b. Supplied.
- the synthesis gas flowing in the line 4b is preheated to a predetermined temperature by heat exchange in the preheater 22b with the outlet gas containing the reaction product flowing in the line 7b at the outlet of the reactor 23b.
- the reactor 23b preferably has an inner tube 24b made of carbon steel, and the inner tube 24b is filled with a methanol synthesis catalyst containing copper and zinc as essential components to form a catalyst layer. Methanol is synthesized in the process in which the synthesis gas supplied from the line 6b into the reactor 23b passes through the catalyst layer in the inner tube 24b.
- the pressure and temperature of the fluid in the catalyst layer may be within the range of the reaction and temperature in the methanol synthesis reaction.
- the outlet gas (reaction mixture) containing methanol flowing out from the reactor 23b to the line 7b is cooled in the preheater 22b, and further cooled in the condenser 25b, thereby accelerating the condensation of methanol.
- the condensed fluid containing methanol is extracted from the line 9b out of the system as a condensed methanol in the gas-liquid separator 26b, and the remaining gas phase is circulated in the line 8b.
- the gas that has been circulated in the line 3c is mixed with the unreacted gas that has been circulated in the line 8b from the gas-liquid separator 26b, and then the line 4c and the preheater 22c. Supplied to.
- the synthesis gas flowing in the line 4c is preheated to a predetermined temperature by heat exchange with the outlet gas containing the reaction product flowing in the line 7c at the outlet of the reactor 23c in the preheater 22c.
- the reactor 23c preferably has an inner tube 24c made of carbon steel, and the inner tube 24c is filled with a methanol synthesis catalyst containing copper and zinc as essential components to form a catalyst layer. Methanol is synthesized in the process in which the synthesis gas supplied from the line 6c into the reactor 23c passes through the catalyst layer in the inner tube 24c.
- the pressure and temperature of the fluid in the catalyst layer may be within the range of the reaction and temperature in the methanol synthesis reaction.
- the outlet gas (reaction mixture) containing methanol flowing out from the reactor 23c to the line 7c is cooled in the preheater 22c, and further cooled to a predetermined temperature by the condenser 25c, whereby methanol is further condensed. .
- the condensed fluid containing methanol is extracted out of the system from the line 9c with the condensed component as crude methanol in the gas-liquid separator 26c, and the gas phase component (unreacted gas) flows through the line 8c.
- An unreacted gas in an amount corresponding to a predetermined circulation ratio among unreacted gases flowing in the line 8c is merged with makeup gas flowing in the line 3a from the line 5 through the circulator 32 from the line 16 as a circulating gas, It is circulated to the reactor 23a.
- the remaining unreacted gas is withdrawn from the synthesis loop through the line 15 as a purge gas in order to remove inactive components accumulated in the synthesis loop.
- Cooling of the catalyst layers of the reactor 23a, the reactor 23b, and the reactor 23c is performed by introducing boiler water from the steam drums 33a, 33b, and 33c into the reactors 23a, 23b, and 23c from the lines 43a, 43b, and 43c, respectively. It is used in the process where the fluid containing the generated water vapor is recovered from the lines 44a, 44b and 44c to the steam drums 33a, 33b and 33c, respectively, using it as pressurized boiling water.
- the steam generated by the reaction heat is taken out from the steam drums 33a, 33b and the steam drum 33c to the lines 42a, 42b and 42c, respectively, and an amount of water for compensating the amount of water vapor is supplied from the lines 41a, 41b and 41c to the respective steam drums.
- the steam taken out from the lines 42a, 42b and the line 42c can be used as a raw material steam necessary for a steam reforming reaction when the raw material gas is generated from natural gas.
- the catalyst used for the synthesis of methanol is a catalyst prepared by the method described in Example 1 of Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-44715 (methanol synthesis catalyst A), and by the method described in Example 1 of JP-A-8-299796.
- a prepared catalyst methanol synthesis catalyst B
- a catalyst prepared by the method described in Example 3 of WO 2011/048976 methanol synthesis catalyst C
- a comparative example of JP-A-8-299796 4 (Methanol synthesis catalyst D) prepared by the method described in 4.
- Example 1 In Example 1, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, methanol was synthesized under the condition of a circulation ratio of 1.0 using a gas generated by a steam reforming reaction of natural gas as a raw material gas. Further, methanol synthesis catalyst C was used as the catalyst in reactors 23 and 28. The pressure was increased to 9.9 MPa-G (101 kg / cm 2 -G) by the compressor 21. 40 mol% of the pressurized synthesis raw material gas (makeup gas) is circulated in the line 3 and heat exchanged with the outlet gas (reaction mixture) containing the reaction product flowing in the line 7 at the outlet of the reactor 23. Then, the temperature in the line 6 was preheated to 200 ° C.
- the remaining 60 mol% of the makeup gas was circulated in the line 4.
- a reactor 23 having an inner tube 24 made of carbon steel was used.
- the pressure of the fluid in the catalyst layer was 9.8 to 9.9 MPa-G (100 to 101 kg / cm 2 -G), and the temperature was 200 to 262 ° C.
- the outlet gas from the first synthesis step is cooled to 45 ° C. (total pressure 9.6 MPa-G (98 kg / cm 2 -G)) below the dew point of methanol by the condenser 25 to promote the condensation of methanol. did.
- the synthesis gas flowing through the line 10 was preheated to 200 ° C. by exchanging heat with the outlet gas containing the reaction product flowing through the line 12 at the outlet of the reactor 28 in the preheater 27.
- a reactor 28 having an inner tube 29 made of carbon steel was used.
- the pressure of the fluid in the catalyst layer was 9.6 MPa-G (98 kg / cm 2 -G), and the temperature was between 200 and 267 ° C.
- the methanol was further condensed by cooling to 45 ° C. with the condenser 30.
- the molar flow rate of the circulating gas was controlled to be equal to the molar flow rate of the makeup gas.
- the molar flow rate of the purge gas relative to the molar flow rate of the unreacted gas in the line 13 was 19.4%.
- the material balance is shown in Table 1.
- the vertical column in Table 1 is the line number shown in FIG. 1, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer in Example 1 was 262 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23 and 267 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, which was a very preferable temperature range as the catalyst operating temperature range. At this time, the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as a coolant was 230 ° C.
- the molar flow rate (the sum of the methanol molar flow rate in line 9 and the methanol molar flow rate in line 14) was 96.9%.
- Comparative Example 1 In Comparative Example 1, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 was used. The difference from Example 1 is that there is no first condensation separation step after the first synthesis step. Specifically, the synthesis gas containing methanol produced through the reactor 23 passes through the preheater 22 from the line 7 and is mixed with 60% taken out to the line 4 of the makeup gas in the line 2. The reactor was supplied from the line 10, the preheater 27 and the line 11 to the reactor 28. The composition of the source gas and the total molar flow rate were the same as in Example 1, and the pressure increased by the compressor 21 and the temperatures in line 6 and line 11 were also the same as in Example 1. Carbon steel was used as the material for the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23 and the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the methanol synthesis catalyst C was filled in the reactor 23 and the reactor 28. Comparative Example 1 is based on the technique of Patent Document 1.
- the material balance is shown in Table 2.
- the vertical column in Table 2 is the line number shown in FIG. 2, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer in Comparative Example 1 was 243 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23 and 238 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28. At this time, the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as a coolant was 230 ° C.
- the carbon yield in Comparative Example 1 was 83.5%.
- Example 1 The difference between Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 is whether or not there is a condensation separation step between the two synthesis steps.
- the result of Example 1 having the condensation / separation step was improved by 13.4% in the carbon yield as compared with the result of Comparative Example 1 not having the condensation / separation step, and showed a remarkable effect. . Furthermore, if the effect of improving the yield is used, the amount of catalyst can be reduced.
- Comparative Example 2 In Comparative Example 2, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 was used. The difference from Comparative Example 1 is that the circulation ratio is different, and the circulation ratio was set to 3.0.
- the composition of the raw material gas and the total molar flow rate were the same as in Example 1 and Comparative Example 1, and the pressure increased by the compressor 21 and the temperatures in Line 6 and Line 11 were also the same as in Example 1.
- Carbon steel was used as the material for the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23 and the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the methanol synthesis catalyst C was filled in the reactor 23 and the reactor 28.
- Comparative Example 2 is based on the technique of Patent Document 1.
- the material balance is shown in Table 3.
- the vertical column of Table 3 is the line number shown in FIG. 2, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer in Comparative Example 2 was 248 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23 and 241 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28. At this time, the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as a coolant was 230 ° C.
- the difference between Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2 is that the circulation ratio is 1.0 and 3.0, respectively, and the yield of Comparative Example 2 is equivalent to that of Example 1 due to this difference.
- the circulation ratio is different from whether or not a condensation separation step is provided between the two synthesis steps.
- the cooling processing gas amount (the amount of gas cooled in the condenser) is the sum of the gas amounts of the line 7 and the line 12 in the first embodiment, and the gas amount of the line 12 in the comparative example 2.
- the ratio of the amount of the cooling processing gas in Comparative Example 2 to the amount of the cooling processing gas in Example 1 is 1.36, and the cooling load in Example 1 is reduced compared to that in Comparative Example 2.
- the amount of gas processed in the circulator 32 of Example 1 is 1/3 times the amount of gas processed in the circulator 32 of Comparative Example 2, and the load on the circulator is also reduced.
- the system can reduce energy while maintaining the carbon yield. I understood it.
- a catalyst containing copper atoms and zinc atoms which are preferable catalysts, in an atomic ratio (copper / zinc) of 2.0 to 3.0 and containing aluminum atoms, it is possible to maintain a high carbon yield and energy. It has been found that the coexistence of reduction can be achieved better.
- Example 2 In Example 2, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the synthesis of methanol was carried out under the condition that the raw material gas had the same composition as the raw material gas used in Example 1 and the circulation ratio was 1.1. Further, 50 mol% of the makeup gas was circulated in the line 3 and the remaining 50 mol% was circulated in the line 4. The amount of purge gas drawn out of the system from the line 15 was adjusted so that the circulation ratio was 1.1. The pressure increased by the compressor 21 and the temperatures in the lines 6 and 11 were the same as in Example 1. Carbon steel was used as the material for the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23 and the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the methanol synthesis catalyst C was filled in the reactor 23 and the reactor 28.
- the material balance is shown in Table 4.
- the vertical column of Table 4 is the line number shown in FIG. 1, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer in Example 2 was 261 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23 and 259 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, which was a very preferable temperature range as the catalyst operating temperature range. At this time, the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as a coolant was 230 ° C.
- Example 2 The carbon yield in Example 2 was 97.3%.
- Comparative Example 3 In Comparative Example 3, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the molar flow rate and the circulation ratio of each component of the raw material gas were set to be the same as in Example 2. This comparative example is based on the technique of Patent Document 2, and the entire amount of makeup gas in line 2 was circulated in line 3. The pressure increased by the compressor 21 and the temperatures in the lines 6 and 11 were the same as in Example 2. Carbon steel was used as the material for the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23 and the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the methanol synthesis catalyst C was filled in the reactor 23 and the reactor 28.
- the material balance is shown in Table 5.
- the vertical column in Table 5 is the line number shown in FIG. 1, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer in Comparative Example 3 was 269 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23 and 238 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28. At this time, the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as the coolant was 230 ° C., the same as in Example 2. Further, the circulation ratio in Comparative Example 3 was 1.1, and the carbon yield was 97.9%.
- Example 2 The difference between Example 2 and Comparative Example 3 is whether makeup gas is supplied to both the first synthesis step and the second synthesis step or only to the first synthesis step.
- the methanol production amounts in the reactor 23 and the reactor 28 were 1646 kg-mol / h and 1657 kg-mol / h, respectively, whereas in Comparative Example 3, 2698 kg-mol / h and 626 kg-mol / h, respectively. h, the load on the reactor 23 increased rapidly, and the catalyst in the reactor 28 could not be used effectively. Based on this result, in Comparative Example 3, it is estimated that the influence on the catalyst deterioration of the reactor 23 is large.
- the ratio of methanol production for each reactor was 1.0 in Example 2, whereas in Comparative Example 3, It is extremely high as 4.3, which is not preferable.
- the total amount of gas introduced into the cooler 25 and the cooler 30 is compared, it is 41880 kg-mol / h in the second embodiment, and 45825 kg-mol / h in the third comparative example.
- the load of the cooler is high, which is not preferable.
- Example 3 In Example 3, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the synthesis
- Table 6 shows the material balance.
- the vertical column of Table 6 is the line number shown in FIG. 1, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- Example 3 the temperature of the pressurized boiling water that is the coolant was 238 ° C. At this time, the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer was 262 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23, 261 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the carbon yield was 95.2%.
- Example 4 In Example 4, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the synthesis of methanol was performed under the condition that the raw material gas had the same composition as the raw material gas of Example 1 and the circulation ratio was 0.6.
- the material balance is shown in Table 7.
- the vertical column of Table 7 is the line number shown in FIG. 1, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- Example 4 the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer was 260 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23, 259 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the carbon yield was 94.5%.
- Example 5 In Example 5, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the synthesis
- the material balance is shown in Table 8.
- the vertical column of Table 8 is the line number shown in FIG. 1, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- Example 5 the temperature of pressurized boiling water as a coolant was 235 ° C. At this time, the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer was 263 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23, 252 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the carbon yield was 98.3%.
- Example 6 In Example 6, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the synthesis
- Material balance is shown in Table 9.
- the vertical column of Table 9 is the line number shown in FIG. 1, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- Example 6 the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as a coolant was 240 ° C. At this time, the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer was 267 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23, 266 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the carbon yield was 96.9%.
- Example 7 In Example 7, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the synthesis
- Table 10 shows the material balance.
- the vertical column of Table 10 is the line number shown in FIG. 1, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- Example 7 the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as a coolant was 230 ° C. At this time, the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer was 261 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23 and 261 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the carbon yield was 96.6%.
- Example 8 In Example 8, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 3 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the synthesis
- the material balance is shown in Table 11.
- the vertical column of Table 11 is the line number shown in FIG. 3, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer in Example 8 was 264 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23, 265 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the carbon yield was 96.9%.
- the energy level of the obtained water vapor could be increased while keeping the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer within the preferred temperature range. Further, the amount of methanol produced by each reactor is different, and by increasing the pressure of the pressurized boiling water in the reactor 28 having a low methanol production amount, the methanol synthesis reaction can be promoted and the carbon yield can be improved. did it.
- Example 9 In Example 9, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the synthesis
- Material balance is shown in Table 12.
- the vertical column of Table 12 is the line number shown in FIG. 1, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- Example 9 the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as a coolant was 245 ° C. At this time, the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer was 265 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23, 266 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the carbon yield was 96.0%.
- Example 10 In Example 10, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the synthesis
- Material balance is shown in Table 13.
- the vertical column of Table 13 is the line number shown in FIG. 1, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- Example 10 the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as the coolant was 250 ° C. At this time, the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer was 267 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23, 267 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the carbon yield was 96.1%.
- Example 11 In Example 11, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the synthesis
- Material balance is shown in Table 14.
- the vertical column of Table 14 is the line number shown in FIG. 1, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- Example 11 the temperature of pressurized boiling water as a coolant was 250 ° C. At this time, the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer was 267 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23, 266 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the carbon yield was 93.4%.
- Example 12 In Example 12, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the synthesis
- Material balance is shown in Table 15.
- the vertical column of Table 15 is the line number shown in FIG. 1, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- Example 12 the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as a coolant was 240 ° C. At this time, the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer was 261 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23, 270 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the carbon yield was 96.1%.
- Example 13 In Example 13, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the synthesis
- the outlet gas from the first synthesis step was cooled to 50 ° C. by the condenser 25 to promote the condensation of methanol.
- the amount of purge gas drawn out of the system from the line 15 was adjusted so that the circulation ratio was 1.4.
- the pressure increased by the compressor 21 and the temperatures in the lines 6 and 11 were the same as in Example 1.
- Stainless steel was used as the material for the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23 and the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the methanol synthesis catalyst C was filled in the reactor 23 and the reactor 28.
- Material balance is shown in Table 16.
- the vertical column of Table 16 is the line number shown in FIG. 1, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- Example 13 the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as a coolant was 225 ° C. At this time, the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer was 265 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23 and 261 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the carbon yield was 97.8%.
- Example 14 In Example 14, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the synthesis
- the outlet gas from the first synthesis step was cooled to 50 ° C. by the condenser 25 to promote the condensation of methanol.
- the amount of purge gas drawn out of the system from the line 15 was adjusted so that the circulation ratio was 1.4.
- the pressure increased by the compressor 21 and the temperatures in the lines 6 and 11 were the same as in Example 1.
- Stainless steel was used as the material for the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23 and the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the methanol synthesis catalyst C was filled in the reactor 23 and the reactor 28.
- Material balance is shown in Table 17.
- the vertical column of Table 17 is the line number shown in FIG. 1, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- Example 14 the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as the coolant was 217 ° C. At this time, the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer was 237 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23, 235 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the carbon yield was 95.3%.
- Example 15 In Example 15, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the synthesis of methanol was performed under the condition that the raw material gas had the same composition as the raw material gas of Example 1 and the circulation ratio was 0.9.
- Material balance is shown in Table 18.
- the vertical column of Table 18 is the line number shown in FIG. 1, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- Example 15 the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as a coolant was 238 ° C. At this time, the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer was 267 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23, 264 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the carbon yield was 96.7%.
- Comparative Example 4 In Comparative Example 4, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 4 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the synthesis of methanol was performed under the same conditions as in Example 15 with the molar flow rate of the raw material gas being set at a circulation ratio of 0.9. At this time, the circulation ratio is defined by the molar flow rate of the circulating gas with respect to the molar flow rate of the makeup gas, and the molar flow rate of the circulating gas is the sum of the molar flow rates of the lines 16a and 16b.
- a circulation ratio can be defined for each synthesis loop.
- the circulation ratio a defined by the ratio of the partial molar flow rate of the circulating gas flowing through the line 16a to the partial molar flow rate of the makeup gas flowing through the line 3a, and the circulating flow through the line 3b.
- a circulation ratio b defined by a ratio of a partial molar flow rate of the circulating gas flowing through the line 16b to a partial molar flow rate of the makeup gas.
- the circulation ratio (circulation ratios a and b) in each of these synthesis loops was also made equal to the circulation ratio 0.9 in the overall synthesis process.
- a synthetic raw material gas containing CO, CO 2 , and H 2 generated by the steam reforming reaction is introduced into the system from the line 1, and the pressure is 9.9 MPa-G (101 kg / cm 2 -G) by the compressor 21.
- Boosted. 50 mol% of the pressurized synthetic raw material gas (makeup gas) was circulated in the line 3a, mixed with the circulating gas from the line 5a, and then supplied to the preheater 22a.
- This mixed synthesis gas is preheated to 200 ° C. in the preheater 22a by exchanging heat with the outlet gas containing the reaction product flowing from the reactor 23a through the line 7a, and then sent from the line 6a to the reactor 23a. Supplied.
- the remaining 50 mol% of the makeup gas was circulated in the line 3b.
- the reactor 23a has an inner tube 24a made of carbon steel, and the inner tube 24a was filled with a methanol synthesis catalyst C containing copper and zinc as essential components to form a catalyst layer. Methanol was synthesized in the process of passing the synthesis gas supplied from the line 6a into the reactor 23a through the catalyst layer in the inner tube 24a.
- the pressure of the fluid in the catalyst layer was 9.8 to 9.9 MPa-G (100 to 101 kg / cm 2 -G), and the temperature was 200 to 254 ° C.
- the outlet gas containing methanol flowing out from the reactor 23a to the line 7a was cooled in the preheater 22a, it was supplied to the condenser 25a and cooled to 45 ° C. to further condense the methanol.
- the condensed component was extracted as crude methanol from the line 9a in the gas-liquid separator 26a, and the gas phase component was circulated in the line 8a.
- an unreacted gas in an amount corresponding to a predetermined circulation ratio is circulated as a circulating gas from the line 16a through the circulator 32a to the reactor 23a through the line 5a, and the remaining unreacted gas.
- the circulation ratio in the synthesis loop is 0.9, which is the molar flow rate of the gas flowing through the line 16a with respect to the molar flow rate of the gas flowing through the line 3a.
- the make-up gas that was circulated in the line 3b of 50 mol% was mixed with the circulating gas from the line 5b and then supplied to the preheater 22b.
- the mixture of the makeup gas and the circulating gas is preheated to 200 ° C. by exchanging heat in the preheater 22b with the outlet gas containing the reaction product flowing in the line 7b at the outlet of the reactor 23b, and the line 6b.
- the reactor 23b has an inner tube 24b made of carbon steel, and the inner tube 24b was filled with a methanol synthesis catalyst C containing copper and zinc as essential components to form a catalyst layer. Methanol was synthesized in the process of passing the synthesis gas supplied from the line 6b into the reactor 23b through the catalyst layer in the inner tube 24b.
- the methanol was further condensed by supplying it to the condenser 25b and cooling to 45 ° C.
- the condensed component was extracted as crude methanol from the line 9b in the gas-liquid separator 26b, and the gas phase component was circulated in the line 8b.
- an amount of unreacted gas having a predetermined circulation ratio was circulated as a circulating gas from the line 16b through the circulator 32b to the reactor 23b through the line 5b.
- the remaining unreacted gas was extracted from the synthesis loop through the line 15b as a purge gas in order to remove inactive components accumulated in the synthesis loop.
- the circulation ratio in the synthesis loop is 0.9, which is the molar flow rate of the gas flowing through the line 16b with respect to the molar flow rate of the gas flowing through the line 3b.
- Cooling of the catalyst layers of the reactor 23a and the reactor 23b is caused by introducing boiler water from the steam drums 33a and 33b into the reactors 23a and 23b through lines 43a and 43b and using them as pressurized boiling water, respectively. This was performed in the process of recovering the fluid containing water vapor from the lines 44a and 44b to the steam drums 33a and 33b, respectively.
- the steam generated by the reaction heat was taken out from the steam drums 33a and 33b to the lines 42a and 42b, respectively, and an amount of water supplementing the amount of steam was supplied from the lines 41a and 41b to the respective steam drums.
- the water vapor taken out from the lines 42a and 42b can be used as raw water vapor necessary for the steam reforming reaction when the raw material gas is produced from natural gas.
- the material balance is shown in Table 19.
- the vertical column of Table 19 is the line number shown in FIG. 4, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer in Comparative Example 4 was 254 ° C. in the inner tube 24a of the reactor 23a and 254 ° C. in the inner tube 24b of the reactor 23b. At this time, the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as a coolant was 238 ° C. Moreover, the carbon yield in Comparative Example 4 was 90.2%.
- Example 15 The difference between Example 15 and Comparative Example 4 is that circulating gas is circulated in series to each reactor and each separator, or unreacted gas separated in each separator is circulated in parallel to each reactor. It is.
- Example 15 one synthesis loop is provided and the reactor and the separator are arranged in series.
- Comparative Example 4 two synthesis loops are used, and the reactor and the separator are arranged in parallel.
- the temperature of the separator was set to 45 ° C. in both Example 15 and Comparative Example 4.
- the carbon yield of Example 15 was 6.5% higher than the carbon yield of Comparative Example 4, and the yield was improved.
- Comparative Example 4 as compared with Example 15, the number of compressors for circulating gas is increased, which is inferior in economic efficiency.
- each synthesis loop has only one separation step, so the separation step is the same for each loop, and the temperature and methanol separation ratio are set in the second separation step column in Table 24. Described.
- Comparative Example 5 In Comparative Example 5, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 5 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the synthesis of methanol was performed under the same conditions as in Example 15 with the molar flow rate of the raw material gas being set at a circulation ratio of 0.9. At this time, the circulation ratio is defined by the molar flow rate of the circulating gas with respect to the molar flow rate of the makeup gas, and the molar flow rate of the circulating gas is the molar flow rate of the line 5.
- the synthesis process in Comparative Example 5 is a combination of a reactor that exists in one synthesis loop and a reactor that exists in one single-type reaction system.
- a synthetic raw material gas containing CO, CO 2 , and H 2 generated by the steam reforming reaction is introduced into the system from the line 1, and the pressure is 9.9 MPa-G (101 kg / cm 2 -G) by the compressor 21.
- Boosted. 50 mol% of the pressurized synthetic raw material gas (makeup gas) was circulated in the line 3 and supplied to the preheater 22. This make-up gas was preheated to 200 ° C. in the preheater 22 by exchanging heat with the outlet gas containing the reaction product flowing from the reactor 23 in the line 7, and supplied to the reactor 23 from the line 6. .
- the remaining 50 mol% of the makeup gas was circulated in the line 4a.
- the reactor 23 has an inner tube 24 made of carbon steel, and the inner tube 24 was filled with a methanol synthesis catalyst C containing copper and zinc as essential components to form a catalyst layer. Methanol was synthesized in the process of passing the makeup gas supplied from the line 6 into the reactor 23 through the catalyst layer in the inner tube 24.
- the pressure of the fluid in the catalyst layer was 9.9 MPa-G (101 kg / cm 2 -G), and the temperature was between 200-260 ° C.
- the outlet gas containing methanol flowing out from the reactor 23 to the line 7 was cooled in the preheater 22, then supplied to the condenser 25, and cooled to 45 ° C. to further condense methanol.
- the condensed component was extracted as crude methanol from the line 9 by the gas-liquid separator 26, and the gas phase component was circulated in the line 8.
- the unreacted gas from the line 8 that is the gas phase component of the gas-liquid separator 26 is further mixed. did.
- the mixture is supplied to the preheater 27, and heat is exchanged in the preheater 27 with the outlet gas containing the reaction product flowing in the line 12 at the outlet of the reactor 28, so that the mixture is preheated to 200 ° C. and reacted from the line 11.
- the vessel 28 was supplied.
- the reactor 28 has an inner tube 29 made of carbon steel, and the inner tube 29 was filled with a methanol synthesis catalyst C containing copper and zinc as essential components to form a catalyst layer. Methanol was synthesized in the process of passing the synthesis gas supplied from the line 11 into the reactor 28 through the catalyst layer in the inner tube 29.
- the methanol was further condensed by supplying it to the condenser 30 and cooling to 45 ° C.
- the condensed component was extracted as crude methanol from the line 14 by the gas-liquid separator 31, and the gas phase component was circulated in the line 13.
- an unreacted gas in an amount corresponding to a predetermined circulation ratio is circulated as a circulating gas from the line 16 through the circulator 32 to the reactor 28 from the line 5 and the remaining unreacted gas was removed from the synthesis loop through line 15 as a purge gas in order to remove inactive components accumulated in the synthesis loop.
- Cooling of the catalyst layers of the reactor 23 and the reactor 28 is performed by introducing boiler water from the steam drum 33 into the reactors 23 and 28 through lines 43 and 44, respectively, and using it as pressurized boiling water. This was performed in a process in which the fluid containing the water was recovered from the lines 44 and 46 to the steam drum 33, respectively. Water vapor generated by the reaction heat was taken out from the steam drum 33 to the line 42, and an amount of water supplementing the amount of water vapor was supplied from the line 41 to the steam drum. The steam taken out from the line 42 can be used as a raw material steam necessary for a steam reforming reaction when the raw material gas is generated from natural gas.
- Table 20 shows the material balance.
- the vertical column of Table 20 is the line number shown in FIG. 5, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer in Comparative Example 5 was 260 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23 and 251 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28. At this time, the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as a coolant was 238 ° C. Further, the carbon yield in Comparative Example 5 was 91.3%.
- Example 15 The difference between Example 15 and Comparative Example 5 is that the circulating gas is circulated in series to each reactor and each separator, or the circulating gas is circulated alone to the final reactor (reactor 28), and the first reactor ( Whether the reactor 23) is present in a single reaction system.
- Example 15 there was one synthesis loop, and the reactor and the separator were arranged in series in the synthesis loop.
- Comparative Example 5 the reactor 23 and the separator 26 that are not included in the synthesis loop are arranged, only the makeup gas is introduced into the reactor 23, and the unreacted gas from the separator 26 enters the synthesis loop. It was supposed to join.
- the temperature of the separator was set to 45 ° C. in both Example 15 and Comparative Example 5.
- Example 15 The carbon yield of Example 15 was 5.4% higher than the carbon yield of Comparative Example 5, and the yield was improved.
- the flow rate of the mixture of makeup gas and unreacted gas supplied to the reactor 28 was larger than the flow rate of makeup gas supplied to the reactor 23.
- the load of the catalyst filled in the reactor 28 became higher than the load of the catalyst filled in the reactor 23, and the load unevenness for each catalyst layer was recognized.
- Example 16 In Example 16, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 6 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the raw material gas used was a gas generated by a steam reforming reaction of natural gas, and methanol was synthesized under the condition of a circulation ratio of 0.9. Further, the methanol synthesis catalyst C was used as a catalyst in the reactors 23a, 23b and 23c. The pressure was increased to 9.9 MPa-G (101 kg / cm 2 -G) by the compressor 21. Of the pressurized synthetic raw material gas (make-up gas), 30 mol% was circulated in the line 3a, 30 mol% was circulated in the line 3b, and 40 mol% was circulated in the line 3c.
- the pressurized synthetic raw material gas make-up gas
- the outlet gas from the first synthesis step is cooled to 80 ° C. (total pressure 9.6 MPa-G (98 kg / cm 2 -G)) below the dew point of methanol by the condenser 25a to promote the condensation of methanol. did.
- the synthesis gas flowing through the line 4b was preheated to 200 ° C. by exchanging heat with the outlet gas containing the reaction product flowing through the line 7b at the outlet of the reactor 23b in the preheater 22b.
- the reactor 23b a reactor having an inner tube 24b made of carbon steel was used.
- the pressure of the fluid in the catalyst layer was 9.5 to 9.6 MPa-G (97 to 98 kg / cm 2 -G), and the temperature was 200 to 255 ° C.
- the outlet gas containing methanol flowing out from the reactor 23b to the line 7b was cooled in the preheater 22b, the methanol was further condensed by cooling to 60 ° C. with the condenser 25b.
- the synthesis gas flowing through the line 4c was preheated to 200 ° C. by exchanging heat with the outlet gas containing the reaction product flowing through the line 7c at the outlet of the reactor 23c in the preheater 22c.
- a reactor 23c having an inner tube 24c made of carbon steel was used.
- the pressure of the fluid in the catalyst layer was 9.3 MPa-G (95 kg / cm 2 -G), and the temperature was 200 to 261 ° C.
- the outlet gas containing methanol flowing out from the reactor 23c to the line 7c was cooled in the preheater 22c, and then cooled to 45 ° C. by the condenser 25c to further condense methanol.
- the material balance is shown in Table 21.
- the vertical column of Table 21 is the line number shown in FIG. 6, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer in Example 16 is 261 ° C. in the inner tube 24a of the reactor 23a, 255 ° C. in the inner tube 24b of the reactor 23b, and 261 ° C. in the inner tube 24c of the reactor 23c. As a very preferable temperature range. At this time, the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as a coolant was 230 ° C.
- Example 16 Carbon yield in Example 16, to CO molar flow rate and the CO 2 molar flow rate sum in the make-up gas (line 3a, the sum of CO molar flow and CO 2 molar flow rate of the line 3b and the line 3c), the crude methanol
- the methanol molar flow rate (the sum of the methanol molar flow rates of line 9a, line 9b and line 9c) was 97.5%.
- Example 17 In Example 17, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used. Each condition was as follows. That is, the synthesis
- Material balance is shown in Table 22.
- the vertical column of Table 22 is the line number shown in FIG. 1, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- Example 17 the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as the coolant was 247 ° C. At this time, the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer was 268 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23, 267 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28, and the carbon yield was 95.0%.
- Comparative Example 6 In Comparative Example 6, the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 7 was used. The difference from the thirteenth embodiment is the position of the circulator. That is, in the thirteenth embodiment, the circulating gas in the line 16 excluding the purge gas taken out from the unreacted gas taken out from the second gas-liquid separator 31 into the line 13 into the line 15 is boosted by the circulator 32. did. On the other hand, in Comparative Example 6, the line 10a in which a part of the makeup gas taken out to the line 4 is mixed with the unreacted gas taken out from the first gas-liquid separator 26 to the line 8 is boosted by the circulator 32. I tried to do it.
- the material balance is shown in Table 23.
- the vertical column of Table 23 is the line number shown in FIG. 7, and the horizontal column is the temperature, pressure, and substance flow rate of the fluid flowing through each line.
- the maximum temperature of the catalyst layer in Comparative Example 6 was 263 ° C. in the inner tube 24 of the reactor 23 and 262 ° C. in the inner tube 29 of the reactor 28. At this time, the temperature of the pressurized boiling water as a coolant was 225 ° C. Further, the carbon yield in Comparative Example 6 was 97.9%.
- Example 13 The difference between Example 13 and Comparative Example 6 was the difference in the position of the circulator, and the pressure condition of each reactor was different due to this difference.
- the processing gas amount of the circulator 32 in Example 13 is 20347 kg-mol / h, whereas it is 29411 kg-mol / h in Comparative Example 6, which is not preferable because the load on the circulator increases.
- the catalyst layer temperature can be appropriately maintained while the circulation ratio is lowered, the carbon yield in methanol synthesis can be increased, and the load unevenness for each catalyst layer can be reduced. Reaction can be advanced. Therefore, the present invention has industrial applicability in a methanol production method and production apparatus.
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Abstract
Description
特許文献3は、反応器における原料分圧を高くすることで、過反応や高温につながると述べている。そして、この高温によって触媒劣化速度が高くなることにつながる可能性があると指摘している。そこで、特許文献3に記載の技術は、期待される触媒寿命を短くせず、経済的に成り立つ手法で大量の目的物を得る手法として、合成ループ内に反応器を複数配置し、それぞれの反応器後に分離器を配置し、原料ガスを複数の反応器前に供給することも可能な方法で、反応器間で昇圧することを特徴とした技術を提案している。特許文献3は、上記技術により、循環ガス量を低減し、触媒層温度を制御し、それにより、受け入れ可能な触媒寿命を達成した上で、達成すべき所望の生成物の生産を可能にしたと記載している。そして、実施例においては、循環ガス量の23%又は約28%を削減したことが示されている。
加えて、メタノール合成に伴い生じる熱によって触媒のシンタリングが促進されたり、非特許文献1に記載のように、メタノール合成に伴い生成する水が触媒劣化を促進させたりする。そこで、メタノール合成では、触媒を有効に利用するに当たって触媒の負荷を平準化し、効率的に触媒を利用することが求められている。
特許文献3は、循環ガス量を低減し、触媒層温度を制御することで受け入れ可能な触媒寿命を達成した上で、達成すべき所望の生成物の生産を可能にしたと記載している。しかしながら、その実施例では、循環ガス量が既存技術に対して72%又は77%に低減できたことを示しているにすぎず、カーボン収率についての記載もない。カーボン収率について考慮しないのであれば、循環ガス量を低減したとしても、原料ガス量を増加して生産量を維持することが可能であり、技術的な革新性がない。
また、メイクアップガス入口に対して、合成ループにおける最も遠い位置にパージガスの取り出しを設けるのが、カーボン収率の観点から最も都合がよい。一方で、循環機の処理ガス量の観点では、合成ループにおけるパージガスの取り出し位置は循環機の直前がよい。特許文献3に開示されたプロセスは、本来であれば循環機によって昇圧する必要のないガス(合成ループから取り出すパージガス)を昇圧するプロセスとなっている。これでは、循環器の処理ガス量が増大し、エネルギー使用量が増加してしまうので、適切ではない。
加えて、最終の凝縮分離工程ではない凝縮分離工程において、冷却水削減の目的又は機器費削減の目的で、水冷熱交換器を用いずにエアフィンクーラーのみを用いて、冷却器出口ガス温度を55~90℃としてメタノール分離割合を低下させる場合、その凝縮分離の工程に用いる機器の後段に循環機を配置すると、導入される凝縮性気体の総量が増加する。この場合、循環機内で凝縮液滴が発生する確率が高まる。循環機内で凝縮液滴が発生すると機械的な故障およびエネルギー損失の原因となり、この位置に循環機を配置するのは適切ではない。
また、プラントの大型化による経済性向上を追求する場合に行われる並列化については、例えば反応器を並列化する場合、反応器に導入できるガス量が増加するため大型化は可能となる。しかしながら、そのような並列化は、一般的に収率改善や循環比低減にはつながるものではない。
[1]水素と一酸化炭素と二酸化炭素とを含む合成ガスからメタノールを合成する合成工程と、前記合成工程を経て得られた反応混合物から未反応ガスを分離する分離工程と、を有するメタノール製造方法であって、少なくとも2つの前記合成工程と、少なくとも2つの前記分離工程とを有する合成ループを有し、
前記合成ループにおいて、最終合成工程の後の最終分離工程で最終反応混合物から分離した最終未反応ガスからパージガスを取り除いた残りのガスを循環機で昇圧し、水素と一酸化炭素と二酸化炭素とを含むメイクアップガスの10~90モル%と混合して第1混合ガスを得る第1混合工程と、前記第1混合ガスからメタノールを合成する第1合成工程と、前記第1合成工程で得られた第1反応混合物から第1未反応ガスを分離する第1分離工程と、前記第1未反応ガスと前記メイクアップガスの10~90モル%のうちの少なくとも一部とを混合して第2混合ガスを得る第2混合工程と、最終的にメタノールを合成する前記最終合成工程と、前記最終合成工程で得られた前記最終反応混合物から前記最終未反応ガスを分離する前記最終分離工程と、を有し、少なくとも前記最終合成工程において、加圧沸騰水との間接熱交換により触媒層の反応温度を制御する、メタノール製造方法。
[2]合成ループが有する前記少なくとも2つの分離工程のうちの少なくとも1つの分離工程が、ガス状の前記反応混合物を冷却することで生じるメタノールを含む液を気液分離器によって分離する工程である、[1]記載のメタノール製造方法。
[3]前記第1未反応ガスに、前記メイクアップガスのうちの40~70モル%を混合する、[1]又は[2]に記載のメタノール製造方法。
[4]前記第1分離工程において、前記第1反応混合物に含まれるメタノールのうちの35~100モル%と前記第1未反応ガスとを分離する、[1]~[3]のいずれか1つに記載のメタノール製造方法。
[5]前記第1分離工程において、前記第1反応混合物に含まれるメタノールのうちの75~96モル%と前記第1未反応ガスとを分離する、[1]~[4]のいずれか1つに記載のメタノール製造方法。
[6]前記メイクアップガスのモル流量に対する前記最終未反応ガスからパージガスを取り除いた残りのガスのモル流量の比である循環比が、0.6~2.0である、[1]~[5]のいずれか1項に記載のメタノール製造方法。
[7]前記循環比が0.8~1.5である、[6]記載のメタノール製造方法。
[8]前記加圧沸騰水が220~260℃である、[1]~[7]のいずれか1つに記載のメタノール製造方法。
[9]前記最終合成工程は、前記第2混合ガスからメタノールを合成する工程、又は、その工程で得られた第2反応混合物から第2未反応ガスを分離し、その第2未反応ガスとメイクアップガスの一部とを混合して得られる第3混合ガス又は前記第2未反応ガスから、メタノールを合成する工程である、[1]~[8]のいずれか1つに記載のメタノール製造方法。
[10]前記最終合成工程は、前記第2混合ガスからメタノールを合成する工程である、[1]~[9]のいずれか1つに記載のメタノール製造方法。
[11]前記合成工程において用いられる触媒が銅原子及び亜鉛原子を原子比(銅/亜鉛)2.0~3.0で含み、かつアルミニウム原子を含む、[1]~[10]のいずれか1つに記載のメタノール製造方法。
[12]前記合成工程において用いられる触媒が、銅原子及び亜鉛原子を原子比(銅/亜鉛)2.1~3.0で含み、アルミナを3~20質量%含み、かつ銅を含む水溶液と亜鉛を含む水溶液とアルカリ水溶液とを混合して銅及び亜鉛を含む沈殿物を生成する工程と、前記沈殿物と擬ベーマイト構造を有するアルミナ水和物とを混合して混合物を得る工程と、前記混合物を密度が2.0~3.0g/mLになるように成型する工程とを有する製造方法によって調製される、[1]~[11]のいずれか1つに記載のメタノール製造方法。
[13]前記第1未反応ガスに混合する前記メイクアップガスの割合を、前記合成工程における反応器の温度に応じて調整する、[1]~[12]のいずれか一つに記載のメタノール製造方法。
[14]前記合成工程の全てにおいて、加圧沸騰水との間接熱交換により触媒層の反応温度を制御する、[1]~[13]のいずれか1つに記載のメタノール製造方法。
[15]水素と一酸化炭素と二酸化炭素とを含む合成ガスからメタノールを合成する反応器と、前記反応器において得られた反応混合物から未反応ガスを分離する分離装置と、を備えるメタノール製造装置であって、少なくとも2つの前記反応器と、少なくとも2つの前記分離装置とを備える合成ループを有し、前記合成ループにおいて、最終反応器の後の最終分離装置において最終反応混合物から分離した最終未反応ガスからパージガスを取り除いた残りのガスを循環機で昇圧し、水素と一酸化炭素と二酸化炭素とを含むメイクアップガスのうちの10~90モル%混合して第1混合ガスを得る第1混合手段と、前記第1混合ガスからメタノールを合成する第1反応器と、前記第1反応器において得られた第1反応混合物から第1未反応ガスを分離する第1分離装置と、前記第1未反応ガスと前記メイクアップガスのうちの10~90モル%とを混合して第2混合ガスを得る第2混合手段と、最終的にメタノールを合成する前記最終反応器と、前記最終反応器において得られた前記最終反応混合物から前記最終未反応ガスを分離する前記最終分離装置と、を備え、少なくとも前記最終反応器において、加圧沸騰水との間接熱交換により触媒層の反応温度を制御する、メタノール製造装置。
[16]スチームドラムを更に備え、前記第1反応器において、前記加圧沸騰水との間接熱交換により触媒層の反応温度を制御し、前記加圧沸騰水は、前記最終反応器及び前記第1反応器と前記スチームドラムとの間で少なくとも一部が循環する、[15]記載のメタノール製造装置。
[17]少なくとも2つのスチームドラムを更に備え、前記加圧沸騰水は、前記最終反応器と前記少なくとも2つのスチームドラムのうちの1つとの間で少なくとも一部が循環し、かつ、前記第1反応器において、加圧沸騰水との間接熱交換により触媒層の反応温度を制御し、その加圧沸騰水は、前記第1反応器と前記少なくとも2つのスチームドラムのうちの別の1つとの間で少なくとも一部が循環する、[15]記載のメタノール製造装置。
[18]前記最終反応器は、前記第2混合ガスからメタノールを合成する反応器、又は、その反応器において得られた第2反応混合物から第2未反応ガスを分離し、その第2未反応ガスとメイクアップガスとを混合して得られる第3混合ガスから、メタノールを合成する反応器である、[15]~[17]のいずれか1つに記載のメタノール製造装置。
本実施形態においては、少なくとも1つの分離工程が最終合成工程よりも前段に設けられている。また、本実施形態においては、最終分離工程以外の少なくとも1つの分離工程において、その直前の合成工程で得られた反応混合物からメタノールを含む反応生成物と未反応の合成ガス(以下「未反応ガス」という。)とを分離し、この未反応ガスに上記メイクアップガスを混合して得られた混合ガスから、その後段の合成工程においてメタノールを合成する。
本実施形態において、合成ループは、少なくとも1つの合成工程と少なくとも1つの分離工程とを経たガスが最終合成工程と最終分離工程とを経て、最終分離工程において分離された未反応ガスが、循環機を通じて第1合成工程における原料のガスとして用いられることで形成される。合成ループへの物質の出入りのうちの入りとして、メイクアップガスが複数の流れに分割された後に各合成工程前の混合工程から合成ループに導入される。また、物質の出入りのうちの出として、分離工程において反応混合物中の反応生成物が分離されて合成ループ外へ抜き出されると共に、最終合成工程の後の最終分離工程において分離された未反応ガスの一部がパージガスとして合成ループ外に取り出される。なお、本明細書において、「反応混合物」とは、合成工程の出口成分であって、合成工程における反応により生じた成分と未反応成分との混合物であり、通常、メタノールを含むものである。
ここで、合成ループにおけるパージガスの取り出し位置は、循環機の処理ガス量を削減する観点から、合成ループ内での圧力が低くなる箇所が好ましく、循環機の直前がより好ましい。一方で、カーボン収率の観点から、反応混合物中の反応生成物を分離して合成ループ外へ抜き出した後の未反応ガスの一部をパージガスとして分岐することが好ましく、そのパージガスの取り出し位置がメイクアップガスの合流前であるとより好ましい。特許文献3では循環機を複数の反応器の間に存在させる結果、パージガス分を含めて循環機で昇圧することになり、適切な配置ではない。
また、各分離段階での未反応ガスは、次の混合工程、合成工程および分離工程に導かれ、各未反応ガスは直列に全反応器に導入され得る合成ループを形成する。
最終合成工程は、第1合成工程の後に、メタノールを合成する合成工程を経た反応混合物から分離された未反応ガスとメイクアップガスとを混合して得られる混合ガスから、メタノールを合成する工程であれば、特に限定されない。最終合成工程は、上記第2混合ガスからメタノールを合成する工程(第2合成工程)であると好ましい。あるいは、最終合成工程は、第2合成工程で得られた第2反応混合物から第2未反応ガスを分離し、その第2未反応ガスとメイクアップガスとを混合して得られる第3混合ガスから、メタノールを合成する工程(第3合成工程)であっても好ましい。これら第2合成工程及び第3合成工程のうち、最終合成工程は、第2合成工程であることがより好ましい。
また、最終分離工程は、第1分離工程の後に、反応混合物から未反応ガスを分離する工程であれば、特に限定されない。最終分離工程は、第2合成工程で得られた第2反応混合物から第2未反応ガスを分離する第2分離工程であると好ましい。あるいは、最終分離工程は、第3合成工程で得られた第3反応混合物から第3未反応ガスを分離する第3分離工程であると好ましい。これら第2分離工程及び第3分離工程のうち、最終分離工程は、第2分離工程であることがより好ましい。
メイクアップガスは、天然ガスの水蒸気改質ガスや石炭ガス化ガスなどの一酸化炭素(CO)、二酸化炭素(CO2)及び水素(H2)を含む合成原料ガスを圧縮機によって反応圧力まで昇圧したものである。反応圧力は、例えば、4.9~14.7MPa-G(50~150kg/cm2-G)であってもよく、より好ましくは7.8~10.8MPa-G(80~110kg/cm2-G)である。工業的には、メイクアップガスは、例えば天然ガスを原料とした水蒸気改質反応によって得られるものであり、下記式により算出されるCO、CO2及びH2のモル%の関係(M):
M=(H2モル%)/(2×COモル%+3×CO2モル%)
が、1.0より大きく2.0以下であるものが好ましい。さらに好ましいものはMが1.3~1.5である。
本実施形態において、メイクアップガスは、合成ループに導入する前に複数の流れに分割され、合成ループ内に存在する複数の合成工程における原料ガスの一部として、合成ループに導入される。メイクアップガスの分割比率は、各合成工程における合成条件及び各分離工程における分離条件によって好適な範囲が異なる。ただし、最初のメタノール合成工程(第1合成工程)に供給する混合ガス(第1混合ガス)に含まれるメイクアップガスのモル流量は、メイクアップガスの全体量に対して10~90モル%、好ましくは10~70モル%である。次いで第2合成工程に供給する混合ガス(第2混合ガス)に含まれるメイクアップガスのモル流量は、メイクアップガスの全体量に対して10~90モル%、好ましくは10~70モル%である。そして、第3合成工程以降が存在する場合であって、第1合成工程および第2合成工程に供給したメイクアップガスのモル流量の和をメイクアップガスの全体量の100%未満とする場合は、残りのメイクアップガスを第3合成工程以降の各メタノール合成工程に適宜分割する。また、第3合成工程以降が存在する場合であって、第1合成工程および第2合成工程に供給したメイクアップガスのモル流量の和がメイクアップガスの全体量の100%とする場合は、メイクアップガスを第3合成工程以降の各メタノール合成工程には分割供給しない。例えば、1つの実施態様として、分離工程における分離方法として凝縮分離方法を用いて、2つの合成工程と2つの凝縮分離工程とを有する製造方法の場合を説明する。この実施態様では、第1凝縮分離工程の出口ガス温度を20℃~100℃とする場合、最終合成工程(第2合成工程)の直前で合成ループに導入されるメイクアップガスの割合(メイクアップガスの全体量に対する割合。以下同様。)は、カーボン収率及び触媒層の最高温度などの観点から、10~90モル%であると好ましく、より好ましくは30~90モル%、さらに好ましくは40~70モル%である。また、第1凝縮分離工程の出口ガス温度を40℃~80℃とする場合、最終合成工程の直前で合成ループに導入されるメイクアップガスの割合は、上記と同様の観点から、10~90モル%であるとよく、30~90モル%であると好ましく、より好ましくは40~70モル%、さらに好ましくは45~65モル%である。
本実施形態においては、メイクアップガスを合成ループに導入する前に複数の流れに分割し、その分割比率を調整することができる。これにより、合成工程での反応器の温度を容易に制御することが可能となる。
合成工程においては、合成ガスからメタノールを合成する。合成工程において用いられる反応器は、触媒層を有すると共に反応で生じる熱を触媒層から取り除く機構(除熱機構)を有するものであると好ましい。
好ましい触媒の具体例としては、国際公開第2011/048976号の実施例及び比較例、例えば、実施例2及び実施例3に用いられた触媒が挙げられる。また、触媒における銅原子及び亜鉛原子のより好ましい原子比(銅/亜鉛)は、2.1~3.0の範囲である。それに加えて、アルミナを3~20質量%含むメタノール合成触媒がさらに好ましい。かかる触媒は、上述のとおり、例えば、国際公開第2011/048976号に記載の方法により調製することができる。より具体的には、例えば、銅を含む水溶液と亜鉛を含む水溶液とアルカリ水溶液とを混合して銅及び亜鉛を含む沈殿物を生成する工程と、得られた沈殿物と擬ベーマイト構造を有するアルミナ水和物とを混合して混合物を得る工程と、得られた混合物を密度が2.0~3.0g/mLになるように成型する工程とを有する製造方法によって調製される。ここで、成型方法としては、例えば、錠剤化、押出成形及び転動造粒が挙げられる。ただし、本実施形態に用いる触媒は上記の触媒及び上記の調製方法で調製された触媒に限定されるものではなく、同等のメタノール合成活性を有する他の触媒であってもよい。
加圧沸騰水との間接熱交換により触媒層の反応温度を制御するのは、少なくとも最終合成工程においてであればよいが、全ての合成工程において加圧沸騰水との間接熱交換により触媒層の反応温度を制御するのが好ましい。なお、複数の反応器において加圧沸騰水を冷却材に用いる場合、それぞれの反応器における加圧沸騰水の温度は互いに同一であっても異なっていてもよい。
分離工程においては、合成工程を経て得られた反応生成物を含む反応混合物から未反応ガスを分離する。言い換えれば、上記反応混合物に含まれるメタノール又はメタノール及び水と未反応ガスとを分離する。分離方法としては、例えば、合成工程からの出口ガスを冷却し、冷却によって生じる凝縮液を気液分離器によって分離する凝縮分離方法、及び分離膜を用いた膜分離方法が挙げられ、これらの中では凝縮分離方法が好ましい。本実施形態においては、凝縮分離方法を用いた分離工程(凝縮分離工程)が合成ループ内に少なくとも2つ設けられ、それらのうちの1つは、最終合成工程の後の最終凝縮分離工程であることが好ましい。凝縮分離工程において冷却される流体は、当該凝縮分離工程の前の合成工程からの出口ガス(ガス状の反応混合物)であり、合成されたメタノールを含む。メタノールを含む液を凝縮液として得る方法としては、例えば、反応器に供給される合成ガスとの相互熱交換やエアフィンクーラーなどによる空冷、冷却水やブラインなどの冷却材による冷却などが挙げられる。冷却対象となる流体(反応混合物)の冷却前の初期温度と冷却後の目標温度に応じて、凝縮液を得る方法は1種類を単独で又は2種類以上を組み合わせて用いられる。得られた凝縮液は、気液分離器(以下、単に「分離器」ともいう。)を用いて分離することが一般的である。これら冷却器(凝縮器)と分離器との組み合わせとしては、冷却器と分離器とを1つずつ組み合わせたものであってもよく、冷却器と分離器とを複数ずつ組み合わせたものであってもよい。冷却器と分離器とが複数組み合わされた例としては、例えば、特開昭61-257934号公報に記載のものが挙げられる。より具体的には、合成工程を経て得られる反応混合物を冷却し、メタノールを主成分とする反応生成物を凝縮し分離するに際し、凝縮器を2段に分け、前段の凝縮器の伝熱表面温度を反応混合物の露点以下、かつ反応混合物中に含まれるパラフィン類の融点以上の温度に設定し、後段の凝縮器の伝熱表面温度を60℃以下とする手法が挙げられる。
凝縮分離工程においては、冷却によって、メタノール、あるいはメタノール及び水を含む凝縮液が所定量生じるまで反応混合物を冷却する。例えば、メタノール分圧0.69~0.88MPa-G(7.0~9.0kg/cm2-G)の流体(反応混合物)を冷却し凝縮させる場合は、好ましくは、20~100℃、より好ましくは40~80℃に冷却することが好ましい。このとき、メタノール収率向上の観点から、第1凝縮分離工程において、第1合成工程からの出口ガスに含まれるメタノールの分離割合は75モル%より高くすることが好ましい。さらに、その後の第2合成工程での反応制御のために、第1凝縮分離工程における第1合成工程からの出口ガスに含まれるメタノールの分離割合は96モル%より低くすることがより好ましい。冷却水の節約の観点からは、第1凝縮分離工程における冷却は、エアフィンクーラーによる冷却(空冷)のみを用いることが好ましい。この場合、反応混合物の冷却後の目標温度は、同様の観点から55~90℃であることが好ましい。
合成ループにおけるパージガスの取り出し位置は、循環機の処理ガス量を削減する観点から、合成ループ内での圧力が低くなる箇所が好ましく、循環機の直前がより好ましい。加えて、カーボン収率の観点から、反応混合物中の反応生成物を分離して合成ループ外へ抜き出した後の未反応ガスの一部をパージガスとして分岐することが好ましく、そのパージガス取り出し位置がメイクアップガスの合流前であるとより好ましい。さらに、複数の合成工程間の分離工程において、その分離工程の前の合成工程からの出口ガスに含まれるメタノールのうち4~25モル%を分離せずに、その後の合成工程に供給することで、後段の合成工程における反応を制御し、触媒層の過熱を抑制することも可能となる。この場合、その分離工程に用いる分離器の後段であって、続く合成工程に用いる反応器の前段に循環機を配置することは、循環機内で凝縮が発生する恐れがあり、適切ではない。
これらの観点から、循環機は、最終分離工程後の未反応ガスからパージガスを取り除いた残りのガスを第1混合工程において混合する箇所へ循環させるような位置が好適である。
メタノール合成に用いる触媒は、特公昭51-44715号公報の実施例1に記載の方法によって調製された触媒(メタノール合成触媒A)、特開平8-299796号公報の実施例1に記載の方法によって調製された触媒(メタノール合成触媒B)、国際公開第2011/048976号の実施例3に記載の方法によって調製された触媒(メタノール合成触媒C)、又は、特開平8-299796号公報の比較例4に記載の方法によって調製された触媒(メタノール合成触媒D)のいずれかとした。
実施例1では図1に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスとして、天然ガスの水蒸気改質反応で生じるガスを利用し、循環比1.0の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。また、反応器23及び28における触媒としてメタノール合成触媒Cを用いた。圧縮機21により9.9MPa-G(101kg/cm2-G)まで昇圧した。昇圧した合成原料ガス(メイクアップガス)のうち40モル%をライン3内に流通させ、反応器23出口のライン7内を流通する反応生成物を含む出口ガス(反応混合物)と熱交換させることで、ライン6における温度が200℃になるよう予熱した。メイクアップガスのうち残りの60モル%をライン4内に流通させた。反応器23としては炭素鋼からなる内管24を有するものを用いた。触媒層における流体の圧力は9.8~9.9MPa-G(100~101kg/cm2-G)、温度は200~262℃の間であった。
比較例1では、図2に示す製造装置を用いた。実施例1との相違点は、第1合成工程の後の第1凝縮分離工程がない点である。具体的には、反応器23を通過し生成したメタノールを含む合成ガスはライン7から予熱器22を通過し、ライン2のメイクアップガスのうちのライン4へ取り出された60%と混合され、ライン10、予熱器27及びライン11から反応器28に供給された。原料ガスの組成及び合計モル流量を実施例1と同様とするとともに、圧縮機21により昇圧した圧力及びライン6とライン11における温度も実施例1と同様にした。また、反応器23の内管24及び反応器28の内管29の材料には炭素鋼を用い、反応器23及び反応器28にはメタノール合成触媒Cを充填した。比較例1は、特許文献1の技術に基づいたものである。
比較例2では、図2に示す製造装置を用いた。比較例1との相違点は、循環比が異なる点であり、循環比を3.0とした。原料ガスの組成及び合計モル流量を実施例1および比較例1と同様とするとともに、圧縮機21により昇圧した圧力及びライン6とライン11における温度も実施例1と同様にした。また、反応器23の内管24及び反応器28の内管29の材料には炭素鋼を用い、反応器23及び反応器28にはメタノール合成触媒Cを充填した。比較例2は、特許文献1の技術に基づいたものである。
このように、本発明によれば、循環比を大きく削減することによって、複数の合成工程間で凝縮分離を行う製造システムであっても、カーボン収率を保ちつつ、エネルギー削減も図れるシステムであることがわかった。特に、好ましい触媒である銅原子及び亜鉛原子を原子比(銅/亜鉛)2.0~3.0で含み、かつアルミニウム原子を含む触媒を用いることにより、カーボン収率を高く維持することとエネルギーを削減することの両立をより良好に達成できることがわかった。
実施例2では図1に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスを実施例1で用いた原料ガスと同様の組成とし、循環比1.1の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。また、メイクアップガスのうち50モル%をライン3内に流通させ、残りの50モル%をライン4内に流通させた。ライン15から系外に抜き出されるパージガス量を、循環比が1.1となるように調整した。圧縮機21により昇圧した圧力及びライン6とライン11における温度は実施例1と同様にした。また、反応器23の内管24及び反応器28の内管29の材料には炭素鋼を用い、反応器23及び反応器28にはメタノール合成触媒Cを充填した。
比較例3では図1に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスの各成分のモル流量及び循環比が実施例2と等しくなる条件とした。この比較例は特許文献2の技術に基づいたものであり、ライン2のメイクアップガスの全量をライン3内に流通させた。圧縮機21により昇圧した圧力及びライン6とライン11における温度は実施例2と同様にした。また、反応器23の内管24及び反応器28の内管29の材料には炭素鋼を用い、反応器23及び反応器28にはメタノール合成触媒Cを充填した。
また、比較例3における循環比は1.1であり、カーボン収率は97.9%であった。
加えて、冷却器25及び冷却器30に導入される合計ガス量を比較すると、実施例2では41880kg-mol/hであるのに対して、比較例3では45825kg-mol/hであり、比較例3では冷却器の負荷が高く、好ましくない。
実施例3では図1に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスを実施例1の原料ガスと同様の組成とし、循環比0.8の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。
実施例4では図1に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスを実施例1の原料ガスと同様の組成とし、循環比0.6の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。
実施例5では図1に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスを実施例1の原料ガスと同様の組成とし、循環比1.6の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。
実施例6では図1に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスを実施例1の原料ガスと同様の組成とし、循環比1.2の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。
実施例7では図1に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスを実施例1の原料ガスと同様の組成とし、循環比1.0の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。
実施例8では図3に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスを実施例1の原料ガスと同様の組成とし、循環比1.0の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。
実施例9では図1に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスを実施例1の原料ガスと同様の組成とし、循環比1.5の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。
実施例10では図1に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスを実施例1の原料ガスと同様の組成とし、循環比1.7の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。
実施例11では図1に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスを実施例1の原料ガスと同様の組成とし、循環比1.2の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。
実施例12では図1に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスを実施例1の原料ガスと同様の組成とし、循環比1.2の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。
実施例13では図1に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスを実施例1の原料ガスと同様の組成とし、循環比1.4の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。
実施例14では図1に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスを実施例1の原料ガスと同様の組成とし、循環比1.4の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。
実施例15では図1に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスを実施例1の原料ガスと同様の組成とし、循環比0.9の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。
比較例4では図4に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスのモル流量を実施例15と同様とし、循環比0.9の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。
このとき循環比は、メイクアップガスのモル流量に対する循環ガスのモル流量で定義しており、循環ガスのモル流量は、ライン16aとライン16bのモル流量の合計である。
なお、比較例4では各合成ループは、1つの分離工程を有するのみであるので、それぞれのループで分離工程は同条件とし、表24中で第2分離工程欄に該温度およびメタノール分離割合を記載した。
比較例5では図5に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスのモル流量を実施例15と同様とし、循環比0.9の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。
このとき循環比は、メイクアップガスのモル流量に対する循環ガスのモル流量で定義しており、循環ガスのモル流量は、ライン5のモル流量である。
実施例16では図6に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスは、天然ガスの水蒸気改質反応で生じるガスを利用し、循環比0.9の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。また、反応器23a、23b及び23cにおける触媒としてメタノール合成触媒Cを用いた。圧縮機21により9.9MPa-G(101kg/cm2-G)まで昇圧した。昇圧した合成原料ガス(メイクアップガス)のうち30モル%をライン3a内に、30モル%をライン3b内に、40モル%をライン3c内にそれぞれ流通させた。ライン3a内を流通したガスとライン5からの循環ガスとを混合した混合ガスを、反応器23a出口のライン7a内を流通する反応生成物を含む出口ガス(反応混合物)と熱交換させることで、200℃に予熱した。反応器23aとしては炭素鋼からなる内管24aを有するものを用いた。触媒層における流体の圧力は9.8MPa-G(100kg/cm2-G)、温度は200~261℃の間となった。
実施例17では図1に示す製造装置を用いた。各条件は以下のとおりとした。すなわち、原料ガスを実施例1の原料ガスと同様の組成とし、循環比1.2の条件でメタノールの合成を行った。
比較例6では、図7に示す製造装置を用いた。実施例13との相違点は、循環機の位置である。すなわち、実施例13においては、第2気液分離器31からライン13に取り出された未反応ガスからライン15に取り出したパージガスを除いたライン16の循環ガスを循環機32にて昇圧するようにした。一方、比較例6においては、第1気液分離器26からライン8に取り出した未反応ガスにライン4に取り出されたメイクアップガスの一部が混合されたライン10aを循環機32にて昇圧するようにした。この循環機32の位置が異なることに起因して、反応器23及び反応器28のそれぞれの入口圧力が実施例と比較例で異なる結果となった。
原料ガスの組成及び合計モル流量を実施例13と同様とするとともに、循環機32の吐出圧力を同様にした。また、反応器23の内管24及び反応器28の内管29の材料にはステンレス鋼を用い、反応器23及び反応器28にはメタノール合成触媒Cを充填した。比較例6は、特許文献3の技術に基づいたものである。
Claims (18)
- 水素と一酸化炭素と二酸化炭素とを含む合成ガスからメタノールを合成する合成工程と、前記合成工程を経て得られた反応混合物から未反応ガスを分離する分離工程と、を有するメタノール製造方法であって、
少なくとも2つの前記合成工程と、少なくとも2つの前記分離工程とを有する合成ループを有し、
前記合成ループにおいて、最終合成工程の後の最終分離工程で最終反応混合物から分離した最終未反応ガスからパージガスを取り除いた残りのガスを循環機で昇圧し、水素と一酸化炭素と二酸化炭素とを含むメイクアップガスの10~90モル%と混合して第1混合ガスを得る第1混合工程と、前記第1混合ガスからメタノールを合成する第1合成工程と、前記第1合成工程で得られた第1反応混合物から第1未反応ガスを分離する第1分離工程と、前記第1未反応ガスと前記メイクアップガスの10~90モル%のうちの少なくとも一部とを混合して第2混合ガスを得る第2混合工程と、最終的にメタノールを合成する前記最終合成工程と、前記最終合成工程で得られた前記最終反応混合物から前記最終未反応ガスを分離する前記最終分離工程と、を有し、少なくとも前記最終合成工程において、加圧沸騰水との間接熱交換により触媒層の反応温度を制御する、メタノール製造方法。 - 合成ループが有する前記少なくとも2つの分離工程のうちの少なくとも1つの分離工程が、ガス状の前記反応混合物を冷却することで生じるメタノールを含む液を気液分離器によって分離する工程である、請求項1記載のメタノール製造方法。
- 前記第1未反応ガスに、前記メイクアップガスのうちの40~70モル%を混合する、請求項1又は2に記載のメタノール製造方法。
- 前記第1分離工程において、前記第1反応混合物に含まれるメタノールのうちの35~100モル%と前記第1未反応ガスとを分離する、請求項1~3のいずれか1項に記載のメタノール製造方法。
- 前記第1分離工程において、前記第1反応混合物に含まれるメタノールのうちの75~96モル%と前記第1未反応ガスとを分離する、請求項1~4のいずれか1項に記載のメタノール製造方法。
- 前記メイクアップガスのモル流量に対する前記最終未反応ガスからパージガスを取り除いた残りのガスのモル流量の比である循環比が、0.6~2.0である、請求項1~5のいずれか1項に記載のメタノール製造方法。
- 前記循環比が0.8~1.5である、請求項6記載のメタノール製造方法。
- 前記加圧沸騰水が220~260℃である、請求項1~7のいずれか1項に記載のメタノール製造方法。
- 前記最終合成工程は、前記第2混合ガスからメタノールを合成する工程、又は、その工程で得られた第2反応混合物から第2未反応ガスを分離し、その第2未反応ガスとメイクアップガスの一部とを混合して得られる第3混合ガス又は前記第2未反応ガスから、メタノールを合成する工程である、請求項1~8のいずれか1項に記載のメタノール製造方法。
- 前記最終合成工程は、前記第2混合ガスからメタノールを合成する工程である、請求項1~9のいずれか1項に記載のメタノール製造方法。
- 前記合成工程において用いられる触媒が銅原子及び亜鉛原子を原子比(銅/亜鉛)2.0~3.0で含み、かつアルミニウム原子を含む、請求項1~10のいずれか1項に記載のメタノール製造方法。
- 前記合成工程において用いられる触媒が、銅原子及び亜鉛原子を原子比(銅/亜鉛)2.1~3.0で含み、アルミナを3~20質量%含み、かつ銅を含む水溶液と亜鉛を含む水溶液とアルカリ水溶液とを混合して銅及び亜鉛を含む沈殿物を生成する工程と、前記沈殿物と擬ベーマイト構造を有するアルミナ水和物とを混合して混合物を得る工程と、前記混合物を密度が2.0~3.0g/mLになるように成型する工程とを有する製造方法によって調製される、請求項1~11のいずれか1項に記載のメタノール製造方法。
- 前記第1未反応ガスに混合する前記メイクアップガスの割合を、前記合成工程における反応器の温度に応じて調整する、請求項1~12のいずれか1項に記載のメタノール製造方法。
- 前記合成工程の全てにおいて、加圧沸騰水との間接熱交換により触媒層の反応温度を制御する、請求項1~13のいずれか1項に記載のメタノール製造方法。
- 水素と一酸化炭素と二酸化炭素とを含む合成ガスからメタノールを合成する反応器と、前記反応器において得られた反応混合物から未反応ガスを分離する分離装置と、を備えるメタノール製造装置であって、
少なくとも2つの前記反応器と、少なくとも2つの前記分離装置とを備える合成ループを有し、
前記合成ループにおいて、最終反応器の後の最終分離装置において最終反応混合物から分離した最終未反応ガスからパージガスを取り除いた残りのガスを循環機で昇圧し、水素と一酸化炭素と二酸化炭素とを含むメイクアップガスのうちの10~90モル%と混合して第1混合ガスを得る第1混合手段と、前記第1混合ガスからメタノールを合成する第1反応器と、前記第1反応器において得られた第1反応混合物から第1未反応ガスを分離する第1分離装置と、前記第1未反応ガスと前記メイクアップガスのうちの10~90モル%とを混合して第2混合ガスを得る第2混合手段と、最終的にメタノールを合成する前記最終反応器と、前記最終反応器において得られた前記最終反応混合物から前記最終未反応ガスを分離する前記最終分離装置と、を備え、
少なくとも前記最終反応器において、加圧沸騰水との間接熱交換により触媒層の反応温度を制御する、メタノール製造装置。 - スチームドラムを更に備え、
前記第1反応器において、前記加圧沸騰水との間接熱交換により触媒層の反応温度を制御し、
前記加圧沸騰水は、前記最終反応器及び前記第1反応器と前記スチームドラムとの間で少なくとも一部が循環する、請求項15記載のメタノール製造装置。 - 少なくとも2つのスチームドラムを更に備え、
前記加圧沸騰水は、前記最終反応器と前記少なくとも2つのスチームドラムのうちの1つとの間で少なくとも一部が循環し、かつ、
前記第1反応器において、加圧沸騰水との間接熱交換により触媒層の反応温度を制御し、その加圧沸騰水は、前記第1反応器と前記少なくとも2つのスチームドラムのうちの別の1つとの間で少なくとも一部が循環する、請求項15記載のメタノール製造装置。 - 前記最終反応器は、前記第2混合ガスからメタノールを合成する反応器、又は、その反応器において得られた第2反応混合物から第2未反応ガスを分離し、その第2未反応ガスとメイクアップガスとを混合して得られる第3混合ガスから、メタノールを合成する反応器である、請求項15~17のいずれか1項に記載のメタノール製造装置。
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