Selective Synthesis of Oxygenates from Syngas: Strategies and Implications

The liquid phase oxygenates synthesis catalyst development work continues at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). Presently, efforts are primarily concentrated on methanol synthesis via LLTMeOH technology which allows >90% syngas conversion per pass at 50°-130°C with balanced gas (H₂/CO = 2/1). A set of batch runs were conducted to derive a kinetic rate expression for the system. Of particular interest is an almost third-order dependence on base concentration and an exponential term to explain the negative effect of methanol on rate. Work is underway to maximize carbon monoxide utilization in CO-rich syngas (H₂/CO = 1). To this effect, a catalytic one-step synthesis of methyl formate (a C₂ ester) has been achieved utilizing a novel catalyst system.