On Metal Carbonyl Compounds in Catalytic Methanol Synthesis: Detection, Consequences, and Removal

ABSTRACT The gas purity is a critical parameter for methanol synthesis over industrial Cu/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 catalysts. Therefore, catalyst poisons are of particular importance, since even small amounts can be sufficient to significantly reduce catalyst activity. Metal carbonyl compounds M(CO) x are detected as such poisons, which can easily be formed in CO gas lines on defective and/or unsuitable components. To prevent poisoning in laboratory tests, which would affect the results obtained and might lead to misinterpretations, the installation of carbonyl filters is required. We present a study and validation of various filter systems based on thermal decomposition and adsorption of carbonyl species.