Thermodynamic Analysis of Methanol Synthesis via CO2 Hydrogenation Reaction

Abstract The most inspiring opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is direct hydrogenation of CO2 into a commodity of products, which is also an appealing choice for generating renewable energy. CO2 hydrogenation can yield methanol which has a broad range of applications. In the present study, a thermodynamic feasibility analysis of the CO2 hydrogenation reaction is carried out using the Aspen Plus tool. CO2 hydrogenation to methanol, reverse-water-gas-shift (RWGS), and methanol decomposition reactions were considered in this analysis. The effect of different parameters such as temperature (ranging from 50 to 500°C), pressures (ranging from 1 bar to 50 bar), and CO2:H2 molar ratio (ranging from 1:3 to 1:20) on methanol yield has been investigated. The Aspen predicted data is compared with the fixed-bed reactor experimental data. High pressure and low-temperature conditions are found to be the favourable option for a higher value of methanol yield. The CO2 conversion and CH3OH selectivity are favourable when the H2/CO2 molar ratio is greater than 3. A substantial gap between the Aspen predicted equilibrium conversion of CO2 and the experimental value of CO2 conversion is observed in the study.