PROCESS FOR PRODUCING METHANOL

摘要

A process for producing methanol is provided by which it is possible to highly efficiently produce methanol even when a device which is similar to a conventional device, e.g., a fixed-bed reactor, and has a thick catalyst bed is used. The process for methanol production is a process for producing methanol by reacting hydrogen with carbon dioxide in a reactor having a catalyst bed constituted of a copper-containing catalyst. The process is characterized by including a step in which hydrogen and carbon dioxide are supplied from the upstream side of the catalyst bed of the reactor and a reaction mixture containing methanol is obtained from the downstream side of the catalyst bed. The process is further characterized in that the catalyst bed has a thickness of 1 m or more, the molar ratio of the hydrogen to the carbon dioxide which come into contact with the catalyst bed (hydrogen/carbon dioxide) exceeds 3.0, the molar ratio of an inert gas to the carbon dioxide (inert gas/carbon dioxide) is 0 or more, and the molar ratio of the sum of the hydrogen and the inert gas to the carbon dioxide ((sum of hydrogen and inert gas)/carbon dioxide) is 3.5 or more.