Power-to-X and “Green” Platform Chemicals

Methanol is a versatile Power-to-X product that can be synthesized with high selectivity by direct thermocatalytic conversion of CO₂ using hydrogen. As an important platform chemical, methanol is a raw material for various significant products in the chemical industry as well as for the transport sector. These include olefins such as ethylene and propylene, aromatic compounds and polymer building blocks, as well as synthetic fuels (petrol, diesel, kerosene). 

Our development: Thermocatalytic methanol synthesis from CO₂

We are researching thermocatalytic methanol synthesis, converting CO₂ from industrial point sources (exhaust gases from cement plants, biorefineries, etc.) with the help of stable catalysts. In contrast to high-purity CO₂, these exhaust gases contain various trace components in addition to CO₂, e.g. oxygen, ammonia or sulphur compounds, which can significantly impair the performance and lifetime of the applied catalysts. In our research, we investigate the influence of such catalyst poisons and develop measures to protect the valuable catalyst. 

Benefits and technological readiness

The synthesis of methanol is an industrially established process (TRL 9). The conventional process is based on synthesis gas as the starting material, i.e. a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide (CO), which is produced from fossil resources (coal or natural gas). The direct synthesis of methanol from CO₂ and hydrogen is not yet as far advanced, but nevertheless at the brink of industrial application. The advantage of the direct process route is the avoidance of an upstream, technically demanding process for converting CO₂ to CO.

The influence of possible catalyst poisons in CO₂ streams from industrial point sources is currently still insufficiently investigated. There is a need for development in order to provide stable and resilient catalysts for CO₂-based methanol synthesis. In particular, investigations into the upstream process integration of methanol synthesis with different technical CO₂ sources are highly relevant. 

Collaboration

We aim to advance our research and development on methanol synthesis with partners from across the value chain: companies that can provide CO₂ as a raw material from industrial process gas streams, that are working on the development or production of suitable catalysts, that are already active in the field of methanol production, or that use methanol feedstock for further processing. To this end, we offer our partners infrastructure from laboratory to pilot scale for integrated process development.