LURGI WINS CONTRACT FOR METHANOL PLANT

Abstract

In this study, the condensation of methanol and water in unoccupied layers near the coolant tubes of the gas-cooled reactor in mega-methanol plants are investigated. In the Lurgi mega-methanol plants, named conventional configuration (CC), water-cooled reactors are in series with the gas-cooled reactor. These reactors are composed of only two sections, shell and tubes. In the novel configuration (NC), the gas-cooled reactor is modified and consists of three sections including shell, tubes, and mesh. A perforated plate, named mesh, is surrounding each tube by 5 mm from the outer wall of the tube. In the aforementioned space, which has no catalyst, condensation occurs. The coolant temperature in the inlet of the tube of gas-cooled reactor in NC is 20 K smaller than that of CC. The temperature reduction leads to more gas condensation and as a result, the methanol production of NC increases by 20 % compared with CC. A one-dimensional modeling is applied to compare the performances of NC and CC. The results of CC are validated with industrial data.