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Methanol‐Assisted Autocatalysis in Catalytic Methanol Synthesis
Author(s) -
Thrane Joachim,
Kuld Sebastian,
Nielsen Niels D.,
Jensen Anker D.,
Sehested Jens,
Christensen Jakob M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.202006921
Subject(s) - autocatalysis , methanol , catalysis , methyl formate , chemistry , formate , reaction mechanism , methanol reformer , combinatorial chemistry , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , steam reforming , hydrogen production , engineering
Catalytic methanol synthesis is one of the major processes in the chemical industry and may grow in importance, as methanol produced from CO 2 and sustainably derived H 2 are envisioned to play an important role as energy carriers in a future low‐CO 2 ‐emission society. However, despite the widespread use, the reaction mechanism and the nature of the active sites are not fully understood. Here we report that methanol synthesis at commercially applied conditions using the industrial Cu/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 catalyst is dominated by a methanol‐assisted autocatalytic reaction mechanism. We propose that the presence of methanol enables the hydrogenation of surface formate via methyl formate. Autocatalytic acceleration of the reaction is also observed for Cu supported on SiO 2 although with low absolute activity, but not for Cu/Al 2 O 3 catalysts. The results illustrate an important example of autocatalysis in heterogeneous catalysis and pave the way for further understanding, improvements, and process optimization of industrial methanol synthesis.