http://dx.doi.org/10.1595/205651317X695622 Johnson Matthey Technol. Rev., 2017, 61, (3), 172–182 JOHNSON MATTHEY TECHNOLOGY REVIEW www.technology.matthey.com Methanol Production – A Technical History A review of the last 100 years of the industrial history of methanol production and a look into the future of the industry By Daniel Sheldon Peligot. At a similar time, commercial operations using Johnson Matthey, PO Box 1, Belasis Avenue, destructive distillation were beginning to operate (2). Billingham, Cleveland TS23 1LB, UK There are many parallels between the industrial production of methanol and ammonia and it was the Email:
[email protected] early development of the high pressure catalytic process for the production of ammonia that triggered investigations into organic compounds: hydrocarbons, Global methanol production in 2016 was around alcohols and so on. At high pressure and temperature, 85 million metric tonnes (1), enough to fill an Olympic- hydrogen and nitrogen will only form ammonia, however sized swimming pool every twelve minutes. And if all the the story is very different when combining hydrogen global production capacity were in full use, it would only and carbon oxides at high pressure and temperature, take eight minutes. The vast majority of the produced where the list of potential products is lengthy and almost methanol undergoes at least one further chemical all processes result in a mixture of products. Through transformation, more likely two or three before being variations in the process, the catalyst, the conditions, turned into a final product. Methanol is one of the first the equipment or the feedstock, a massive slate of building blocks in a wide variety of synthetic materials industrial ingredients suddenly became available and a that make up many modern products and is also used race to develop commercial processes ensued.