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The document discusses chemicals that can be produced from synthesis gas, with a focus on methanol and its derivatives. Methanol can be produced from synthesis gas and used to make numerous chemicals including formaldehyde, methyl chloride, acetic acid, and dimethyl carbonate. These chemicals find applications as fuels, solvents, and in producing other materials.

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Ali aliraqi
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6 views

2

The document discusses chemicals that can be produced from synthesis gas, with a focus on methanol and its derivatives. Methanol can be produced from synthesis gas and used to make numerous chemicals including formaldehyde, methyl chloride, acetic acid, and dimethyl carbonate. These chemicals find applications as fuels, solvents, and in producing other materials.

Uploaded by

Ali aliraqi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CHEMICALS BASED ON SYNTHESIS GAS:

METHYL ALCOHOL (CH3OH)


• Methyl alcohol (methanol) is the first member of the aliphatic alcohol family
• Due to the high oxygen content of methanol (50 wt%), it is being considered as a gasoline
blending compound to reduce carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions in automobile
exhaust gases.
• Methanol is produced by the catalytic reaction of carbon monoxide and hydrogen
(synthesis gas).
• Ratio required for methanol synthesis is 1:2(CO:H2)
• Ratio of CO:H2 in synthesis gas from natural gas is approximately 1:3
• So, carbon dioxide is added to reduce the surplus hydrogen.
Uses of Methanol

• Approximately 50% of methanol production is oxidized to formaldehyde.

• it is used with many organic acids to produce the methyl esters such as methyl
acrylate, methylmethacrylate, methyl acetate, and methyl terephthalate.

• Methanol is also used to produce dimethyl carbonate and methyl-t-butyl ether, an


important gasoline additive.

• It is also used to produce synthetic gasoline using a shape selective catalyst (MTG
process).

• Olefins from methanol may be a future route for ethylene and propylene in
competition with steam cracking of hydrocarbons.
Chemicals Based on Methanol
Hydrocarbons from Methanol
• Methanol may have a more important role as a basic building block in the
future because of the multisources of synthesis gas.
• When oil and gas are depleted, coal and other fossil energy sources could be
converted to synthesis gas, then to methanol, from which hydrocarbon fuels
and chemicals could be obtained.
• The reaction of methanol over a ZSM-5 catalyst could be considered a
dehydration, oligomerization reaction. It may be simply represented as:

• Where (CH2)n represents the hydrocarbons (paraffins + olefins + aromatics).


• Converting methanol to hydrocarbons is not as simple as it looks from the
previous equation.
• Many reaction mechanisms have been proposed, and most of them are
centered around the intermediate formation of dimethyl ether followed by
olefin formation.
• Olefins are thought to be the precursors for paraffins and aromatics:
• The main industrial route for producing formaldehyde is the catalyzed air oxidation
of methanol.

• The oxidation reaction is exothermic and occurs at approximately 400–425°C and


atmospheric pressure. Excess air is used to keep the methanol air ratio below the
explosion limits.
Uses of Formaldehyde:
1) Formaldehyde is the simplest and most reactive aldehyde.
2) Condensation polymerization of formaldehyde with phenol, urea, or melamine
produces phenol-formaldehyde, urea formaldehyde, and melamine formaldehyde
resins, respectively.
3) These are important glues used in producing particle board and plywood.
4) Formaldehyde reacts with ammonia and produces hexamethylenetetramine
(hexamine):

5) Hexamine is a cross-linking agent for phenolic resins


• Methyl Chloride (CH3CI)
• Methyl chloride is produced by the vapor phase reaction of methanol and hydrogen
chloride:

• The reaction conditions are 350°C at nearly atmospheric pressure. The yield is
approximately 95%. However, methyl chloride is primarily an intermediate for the
production of other chemicals.
• Methyl chloride from methanol may be further chlorinated to produce
dichloromethane, chloroform, and carbon tetrachloride.
• Acetic Acid (CH3COOH)
• The carbonylation of methanol is currently one of the major routes for acetic acid
production. The reaction occurs at 150°C and atmospheric pressure. A 99% selectivity is
claimed with this catalyst:

• Acetic acid is also produced by the oxidation of acetaldehyde and the oxidation of n-butane.
• However, acetic acid from the carbonylation route has an advantage over the other
commercial processes
• Because both methanol and carbon monoxide come from synthesis gas, and the process
conditions are quite mild.
Uses of Acetic Acid:

1) The main use of acetic acid is to produce vinyl acetate (44%), followed by
acetic acid esters (13%) and acetic anhydride (12%). Vinyl acetate is used
for the production of adhesives, film, paper and textiles.

2) Terephthalic acid consumes 12% of acetic acid demand. Acetic acid is also
used to produce pharmaceuticals, dyes, and insecticides.

3) Chloroacetic acid (from acetic acid) is a reactive intermediate used to


manufacture many chemicals such as glycine and carboxymethyl cellulose.
• Dimethyl Carbonate (CO(OCH3)2)

• Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) is a colorless liquid with a pleasant odor.

• It is soluble in most organic solvents but insoluble in water.

• The classical synthesis of DMC is the reaction of methanol with phosgene.


Because phosgene is toxic, a non-phosgene-route may be preferred.

• The new route reacts methanol with urea over a tin catalyst. However, the
yield is low. Dimethyl carbonate is used as a specialty solvent.

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