Optimization of methanol synthesis reaction on Cu/ZnO/Al ₂O ₃/ZrO ₂ catalyst using genetic algorithm: Maximization of the synergetic effect by the optimal CO ₂ fraction

A kinetics model that takes the synergetic effect of carbon dioxide fraction on the methanol production rate into account is applied to the development of a mathematical model for the bench-scale reactor. A comparison between the simulation results and the experimental data corroborates the validity of the model. Several optimization strategies are suggested to maximize the methanol yield, among which the utilization of piecewise trajectories for wall temperature along the reactor axis as well as the optimal CO ₂ fraction at the inlet of the reactor is found to be the best strategy in the sense of methanol production per unit amount of the feed, in such a way that the optimization strategy considers the variation of the reaction temperature in the reactor and maximizes the synergetic effect on the production rate by the addition of carbon dioxide.