Fraunhofer UMSICHT extracts methanol from steel mill gases and hydrogen

In Germany, Fraunhofer UMSICHT is working on the extraction of methanol from steel mill gases and sustainably produced hydrogen in the Carbon2Chem project. The researchers are already successfully operating a demonstration-scale plant on the institute’s premises in Oberhausen. In the next step, tests under real conditions are planned at a steel mill in Duisburg.

Researchers succeeded in demonstrating the production of methanol on the basis of hydrogen and gases that correspond to steel mill gases in their composition.

The most recent success was continuous methanol production using a demonstration plant over a five-week period. “Initially, the plant ran on carbon dioxide and hydrogen for 20 days, as this corresponds to the design point of the plant. Subsequently, we varied the composition of the feed gas and adjusted the proportions of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and hydrogen to the composition of steel mill gases,” explains Dr. Andreas Menne, head of the Low Carbon Technologies department at Fraunhofer UMSICHT. A total of 1700 liters of raw methanol – corresponding to about 1000 liters of methanol – were obtained during this test series.