Experimental Validation of Stationary and Transient Models of a Methanol Demonstration Plant

The system integration of cross-industrial networks in the Carbon2Chem^® project relies on numerical simulations. Hence, this study validates the methanol synthesis loop models vs. the measurements from a demonstration plant, focusing on the thermodynamic, kinetic, and dynamic aspects. The plant can produce up to 500 L per week of methanol from real blast furnace gases of the thyssenkrupp steel plant in Duisburg. Despite its small size, it comprises a recycle gas loop and an original reactor tube of 6 m in length. After validation, the simulation models are used to analyze the dynamic operation limits of the plant, and they are transferred to the model of an industrial size to analyze the operation of cross-industrial networks with volatile boundary conditions.