Methanol Production

1,190,071. Methanol production. IMPERIAL CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES Ltd. 14 Dec., 1967 [20 Jan., 1967], No. 3065/67. Heading C2C. Methanol is produced by a process which comprises generating a methanol synthesis gas containing one or more hydrocarbons in addition to one or more carbon oxides and hydrogen, passing it to a methanol synthesis, and treating the unreacted gases from the methanol synthesis to convert to carbon oxides and hydrogen at least part of the hydrocarbon contained in it. Alternating synthesis gas production and methanol production stages may be provided in series, or purge gases from a recycle process, in which methanol is condensed out and unreacted gases returned to the methanol synthesis reactor, may be fed to the synthesis gas stage. This synthesis gas generation may be the catalytic steam reforming of a normally liquid hydrocarbon feedstock with a boiling point up to 350‹ C., and this stage may be operated in order to produce a synthesis gas containing gaseous hydrocarbon to 2À5-10% calculated as methanol equivalent. The absolute pressure of the methanol synthesis stage may be in the range 10-150 atmospheres and that at the exit of the synthesis generating stage is preferably not less than 0À2 of the synthesis pressure.