METHANOL PRODUCTION PROCESS

FIELD: industrial organic synthesis. ^ SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a methanol production process accomplished by contacting gas mixture containing carbon oxides and hydrogen with copper-containing catalyst supplied to a series of at least three flow reactors at specified rate on heating and at pressure while isolating methanol and water from each reactor. Nitrogen-ballasted starting gas mixture is composed of, vol %: CO 10-15, CO2 0.3-5.0, H2 15-40, and N2 40.0-74.7. It is consecutively passed through reactors at volume flow rate 2000-22000 h-1, 200-260C, pressure 3.5-5.0 MPa, and H2/(CO+CO2) volume ratio 0.75-3.88, while recycling hydrogen separated from tail gases of first and second reactors. ^ EFFECT: enabled production of methanol from gas mixtures with high content of nitrogen and low hydrogen content, increased specific productivity of catalyst and conversion of carbon oxides, improved quality of crude methanol. ^ 3 cl, 2 tbl, 12 ex