ABSTRACT Methanol is an excellent candidate as a low carbon footprint fuel for the energy transition. Anyhow, the yield of the conventional methanol synthesis from CO 2 is limited on the one hand by the thermodynamic equilibrium of the exothermic reaction, and on the other by a parallel reaction, reverse water–gas shift (rWGS). To improve the yield of methanol, one strategy lies in the use of a sorbent that can adsorb water and/or methanol in situ, thus displacing the chemical equilibrium rightward. This is made possible by approaching the “SERP” (sorption enhanced reaction process) technology. By carrying out the process at lab scale under several operating conditions, the optimal operative window was identified. Additionally, the results are suitable for an accurate mathematical modeling and further optimization via simulation.
Antonuccio et al. (Mon,) studied this question.