Methane-to-methanol valorization offers a lucrative pathway to utilize wasted and underutilized natural gas while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Methanol is a valuable chemical for fuel and chemical feedstocks. This presentation reviews advancements in one-step and two-step processes for methanol production technologies.

The one-step (direct methane to methanol) process seems simpler but faces challenges in methanol selectivity, catalyst stability, and by-products minimization. Recent research focuses on new catalysts development and reactor designs to improve methanol yield. The two-step process, involving syngas production followed by methanol synthesis, is more established and offers better control but is complex and more capital-intensive.

The presentation will compare the technical and performance aspects of the one-step and two-step processes using empirical literature data and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). It will cover catalyst design, reactor configuration and scalability, and discuss the balance between operational complexity and efficiency for industrial applications.

De Nyago Tafen

National Energy Technology Laboratory

Appearances