Membrane/sorption-enhanced methanol synthesis process: Dynamic simulation and optimization

Abstract In this study, a dynamic mathematical model of a Membrane-Gas-Flowing Solids-Fixed Bed Reactor (Membrane-GFSFBR) with in-situ water adsorption in the presence of catalyst deactivation is proposed for methanol synthesis. The novel reactor consists of water adsorbent and hydrogen-permselective Pd-Ag membrane. In this configuration feed gas and flowing adsorbents are both fed into the outer tube of the reactor. Contact of gas and fine solids particles inside packed bed results in selective adsorption of water from methanol synthesis which leads to higher methanol production rate. Afterwards, the high pressure product is recycled to the inner tube of the reactor and hydrogen permeates to the outer tube which shifts the reaction towards more methanol production. Dynamic simulation result reveals that simultaneous application of water adsorbent and hydrogen permeation in methanol synthesis process contributes to a significant enhancement in methanol production. The notable advantage of Membrane-GFSFBR is the continuous adsorbent regeneration during the process. Moreover, a theoretical investigation has been performed to evaluate the optimal operating conditions and to maximize the methanol production in Membrane-GFSFBR using differential evolution (DE) algorithm as a robust method. The obtained optimization result shows there are optimum values of inlet temperatures of gas phase, flowing solids phase, and shell side under which the highest methanol production can be achieved.