Abstract
A liquid-phase methanol synthesis process, which combines two-step reaction involving methyl formate is studied to recover wasted or unused discharged heat from industrial sources for the thermal energy demands of residential and commercial areas by chemical reactions. To evaluate the effect of development condition of a plate-type Raney copper catalyst on the over-all chemical reaction rate with transport process within catalyst involved, the chemical reaction rate of methanol synthesis by hydrogenolysis of methyl formate is measured using the catalyst in an autoclave reactor. The reaction rate is obtained by measuring the decrease in pressure due to chemical reaction. We focus on the effect of Raney copper catalyst thickness on the liquid-phase chemical reaction by varying the development time of the catalyst. Investigation results of the catalyst such as surface area, pore radius, lattice size, and photographs of scanning electron microscope (SEM) are also given. It is observed that the over-all reaction rate increases with catalyst thickness for thickness under 56μm due to enhancement of activation of the catalyst, then decreases with it for higher thickness over 56 μm due to the decrease of activation of the catalyst and the effect of diffusion process within the catalyst. It is considered that the optimum of activation arises from the proper size, and the regular shape of catalyst particles.
