Green methanol from renewable feeds – Towards scalable catalyst synthesis and improved stability

Methanol is an important platform chemical in many applications.[1] The widely used Cu/ZnO-based catalysts for methanol synthesis have been studied in detail.[2] CO2-rich feeds (e.g. from carbon capture and storage; CCS) can contribute to the reduction of the climate footprint of methanol production. Cu/ZnO/ZrO2 (CZZ) systems have been developed for the conversion of syngas with high CO2 content, combining good productivity with appropriate stability over long time on stream (ToS).[3] To obtain the CZZ material in sufficient amounts with the desired properties (e.g. high activity and stability), continuous co-precipitation has been implemented as a promising preparation method.[4] Future methanol production is expected to use H2 from solar power which, due to occurring impurities, could affect catalyst stability. In this work, recent results on understanding the fundamentals of catalyst precursor synthesis are presented (e.g. in situ FTIR; Figure 1a). Additionally, results from a catalyst deactivation study are shown (e.g. comparison of bulk and surface composition; Figure 1b).