This paper studies the influence of the porous structure of a promoted Zn/Cr catalyst on selectivity, efficiency, and thermal stability for the synthesis of methanol and higher alcohols from CO and H/sub 2/, at a pressure of 24.5 MPa in the range 300-420 C. It is shown that a variation of volume and size of the macropores in the catalyst samples changes the selectivity of the entire process. The sample with the highest selectivity towards higher alcohols also shows increased thermal stability. An increase of the CO/sub 2/ concentration in the synthesis gas leads to a decreased selectivity towards higher alcohols; an increase of the CO partial pressure enhances the selectivity to higher alcohols, although accompanied by a reduction of the overall CO conversion to useful products and by increased formation of methane and CO/sub 2/.

A rapid method for testing catalysts is suggested, which permits a 30-fold reduction in the time of their examination. The method is recommended for studying catalytic processes taking place with either evolution or absorption of heat.

The stable operating time of high-silica zeolites in the synthesis of hydrocarbons from methanol depends on the content of aluminum in the zeolite. The selectivity of methanol conversion to aromatic hydrocarbons increases with increasing SiO2/Al2O3 ratio and with increasing pressure.

AbstractReview: In einer Literaturzusammenstellung wird über Methanol als Ausgangsbasis für die Synthese von Ameisensäure, Essigsäure, Essigsäureanhydrid und Ethanol sowie seine technische Verwendung für die Herstellung von oktanzahlerhöhenden Benzinzusätzen berichtet.

Because of the continuously rising prices for oil, the limited reserves of oil, and the increasing demand for the products of oil refining, national programs to assure the availability of resources of energy and valuable chemical products using starting material of nonoil origin have been begun in many industrially developed countries. Of particular interest as a substitute for oil and natural gas is methanol, since it can be obtained from any carbon-containing feedstock, and an expansion of the areas of its use in the long term can be provided by coal, which is a reliable raw material source, and also by reclaimed vegetable raw materials. For this reason, there are intensive studies to find new ways of utilizing methanol.

The problem of using methanol as a component of automotive gasoline has arisen recently in connection with the search for sources of nonpetroleum raw materials for production of motor fuel. The use of methanol as an additive to gasoline may be promising if the problem of stabilizing gasoline-methanol mixtures is solved (these mixtures separate under certain conditions unless stabilizers are added). We are testing as motor fuel a isobutanol-stabilized gasoline-methanol mixture. If gasoline-methanol mixtures are put into extensive use, the existing isobutanol plants cannot meet the need for the stabilizers. The search for more economical and efficient stabilizers may include cyclohexanol, which is produced on an industrial scale. We have tested the effect of added cyclohexanol and water on the separation point of gasoline-methanol mixtures in a wide range of CH/sub 3/OH concentrations. The data offer an answer to the question of what the separation temperature of gasoline-methanol mixtures will be in a wide range of methanol concentrations in dependence on the concentration of cyclohexanol and water in them. From these data we constructed the dependence of the separation temperature of gasoline-methanol mixtures containing 15% methanol on the amount of cyclohexanol and water in them. The increase of the separationmore » temperature of the gasoline-methanol mixtures with an increase of the amount of water in them is lower, the higher the concentration of cyclohexanol, i.e. a decrease of the methanol:cyclohexanol ratio permits the amount of water in these mixtures to be increased. Thus, the addition of cyclohexanol to a gasoline-methanol system contributes to a decrease of the separation temperature of gasoline-methanol mixtures.« less

Phase stability in gasoline-methanol systems was investigated in a wide range of methanol concentrations. The effect of added isobutanol (from 3 to 15%) and water (from 0.07 to 2%), and the hydrocarbon makeup of the gasolines, on the stratification of the systems was studied. It is shown that an increase of the concentration of aromatic hydrocarbons in the gasolines and the addition of isobutanol permits the stratification temperature of the gasoline-methanol mixtures to be lowered. The addition of water in the amount of 0.3 to 0.5% leads to stratification of mixtures at temperatures above 0/sup 0/C. 6 references, 5 figures, 1 table.