NON SYN-GAS CATALYTIC ROUTE TO METHANOL PRODUCTION

摘要

Methanol is an important platform molecule for chemical synthesis and its high energy density also renders it a good candidate as a cleaner transportation fuel. At present, methanol is manufactured from natural gas via the indirect syn-gas route which requires an indirect thermal intensive and endothermic step to completely break down the methane molecule to CO/H2 before they’re re-assembled to methanol. We show that ethylene glycol, a versatile chemical derived from biomass or fossil fuels can be directly converted to methanol in hydrogen with high selectivity over Pd/Fe2O3 co-precipitated catalyst, which opens up an exciting possibility for diversification in natural resources from energy starved countries.