Influence of impurities in H2 from different sources on the deactivation of methanol synthesis catalyst

Methanol synthesis is an important option for building up a fossil free chemical feedstock or for further transformation to synthetic fuels, if solar-based H2 or H2/CO/CO2 is used.[1] The deactivation of methanol synthesis catalysts depends on several factors.[2] As part of the InnoPool-Project “Solar Hydrogen - pure & compressed,” we use hydrogen from different sources for methanol synthesis and compare the impact of the impurities on the catalyst deactivation. For this, we conduct parallel catalyst material testing with long time-on-stream to initiate catalyst deactivation, withdraw the materials under an inert atmosphere and investigate them considering sintering and other adverse effects.
[1] a) N. Dahmen, J. Sauer, Processes 2021, 9, 684; b) S. Wiebe, "reFuels-Kraftstoffe neu denken", https://publikationen.bibliothek.kit.edu/1000129322, 2021.
[2] a) H. Kung, Catal. Today 1992, 11, 443; b) J. Sun, I. Metcalfe, M. Sahibzada, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 1999, 38, 3868; c) M. Twigg, Top. Catal. 2003, 22, 191.