Catalyst and Process Development for Liquid Phase DME Synthesis

摘要

Hydrogen and carbon monoxide gas (synthesis gas) mixtures produced from coal aswell as natural gas can be converted to form Dimethyl Ether (DME). DME has potentialapplications as a diesel substitute, domestic fuel, or chemical building blok. Alternately, DMEsynthesis can be incorporated into an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC). The AirProducts’ Liquid Phase Dimethyl Ether (LPDME) press uses a physical mixture ofcommercial methanol and dehydration catalysts in a single slurry reactor to co-produce DMEand methanol. This press provides high syngas conversion, efficient heat transfer and directlyconverts a variety of feed gas compositions. While the proof-of-concept was demonstrated in1991 at U. S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Alternative Fuels Development Unit (AFDU) inLaPorte, Texas, the catalyst system needed improvements in stability. A new stable catalystsystem was developed in the laboratory since then, and a design verification test was conductedin late 1999. Both catalyst and press development are discussed. This effort was partiallyfunded by the DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, under Cooperative AgreementNos. DE-FC22-92PC90543, “Commercial-Scale Demonstration of the Liquid Phase Methanol(LPMEOH?) press”, and DE-FC22-95PC93052, “Alternative Fuels and Chemicals fromSynthesis Gas”.