Methanol to gasoline - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Methanol to gasoline - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Methanol to gasoline
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The methanol to gasoline process is a method of producing liquid hydrocarbons for use as synthetic fuel from methanol by heating with ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst. It was developed by Mobil in early 1970s.
Methanol to gasoline
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

The methanol to gasoline process is a method of producing liquid hydrocarbons for use as synthetic fuel from methanol by heating with ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst. It was developed by Mobil in early 1970s.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 The Process
* 2 Deactivation
* 3 See also
* 4 External links

[edit] The Process

Methanol is made from methane (natural gas) in a series of three reactions:

1. Steam reforming: CH4 + H2O → CO + 3 H2 ΔrH = +206 kJ mol-1
2. Water shift reaction CO + H2O → CO2 + H2 ΔrH = +206 kJ mol-1
3. Synthesis 2 H2 + CO → CH3OH ΔrH = -92 kJ mol-1


The methanol thus formed may be converted to gasoline by the Mobil process. First methanol is dehydrated to give dimethyl ether:

2 CH3OH → CH3OCH3 + H2O

This is then further dehydrated over a zeolite catalyst, ZSM-5, to give a gasoline with 80% (by weight based on the organics in the product stream) C5+ hydrocarbon products.

[edit] Deactivation

ZSM-5 is deactivated by a carbon build-up ("coking") over time in converting methanol to gasoline. The catalyst can be re-activated by burning off the coke in a stream of hot (500C) air; however, the number of re-activation cycles is limited.

[edit] See also
Energy portal

* Fischer-Tropsch process
* Synthetic Liquid Fuels Program
* Synthetic petrol

[edit] External links

* University of California San Diego webpage
* The production of methanol and gasoline