Steam Stripping-Coupled Cycle for Thermodynamic Optimization and Carbon Cycle Intensification in CO/CO<sub>2</sub> Mixed-Gas Hydrogenation Methanol Synthesis
Xin‐Yao Yu, Yan Gao, Guang‐Jie Zhou, Shidan Chi, Chongming Wang, Chaonan Tan, Arman Burkitbayev, Jun Yan, Xudong Zhao
Abstract
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Methanol synthesis, a crucial platform chemical and clean energy carrier, plays a significant role in the global energy transition. This study focuses on thermodynamic optimization and carbon cycle intensification of the CO/CO 2 hydrogenation process. A multidimensional reaction system model was developed to investigate the effects of the CO/CO 2 feed ratio, H 2 /CO x molar ratio, reaction temperature and pressure, catalyst efficiency, and gas–liquid mass transfer resistance on product distribution. To improve carbon utilization, an innovative steam stripping-coupled cycle process was proposed, enabling efficient recovery of dissolved CO 2 in the liquid phase through phase equilibrium regulation. This reduced the CO 2 content from 10.72 kmol·h –1 before stripping to 1.69 × 10 –4 kmol·h –1 after stripping. Under optimized operating conditions, the methanol yield reached 82.0%, and the single-pass yields of CO and CO 2 were 90.7% and 72.6%, respectively. After the novel stripping cycle was adopted, the loss of liquid-phase CO 2 became negligible, with carbon and hydrogen losses mainly caused by gas-phase relaxation. When the relaxation rate was set to 1.0%, the utilization of CO x and H 2 reached 93.2% and 82.8%, respectively. This strategy established a dynamic reaction-separation-recycle balance, improving both resource efficiency and economic performance, and offering theoretical and technical guidance for green methanol industrialization.