Clariant's MegaMax 800 Catalyst: 10% Efficiency Boost in Industrial Methanol Production

On October 16, 2024, Clariant, a specialty chemicals company focused on sustainability, announced a remarkable achievement. The company's deployment of the MegaMax 800 methanol synthesis catalyst at Zhongtian Hechuang Chemicals has achieved remarkable results, and this news undoubtedly brings new hope and momentum to the industry. Zhongtian Hechuang Chemicals has two methanol units, each capable of producing up to 1.8 million tons of methanol per year through the Luqi megame™ process. Prior to this, these devices have successfully used Clariant's previous generation catalyst, the MegaMax 700, which has a service life of approximately 3.5 years. Since its launch in July 2020, the project has been supported by Clariant's deep desulfurization systems ActiSorb™S2 and ActiSorb S6.

Over the past four years, the MegaMax 800 catalyst has demonstrated exceptional efficiency and productivity, reaching 110% of its designed capacity. In the field of coal-based large-scale methanol production, this achievement is undoubtedly a new milestone. In terms of combined production, the total output of mto grade methanol reached a staggering 17,195 thousand tons, and the cumulative methanol production per metric ton of catalyst was as high as 48,600 tons, which is unprecedented in the world.

Georg Anfang, Vice President of Clariant Catalysts Syngas and Fuels, expressed great satisfaction, noting: "We are very proud of the new standard that MegaMax 800 catalyst has set in large-scale methanol production. This success is a direct manifestation of our 50 years of expertise in methanol catalysis. Zhongtian's skilled operations team worked closely with our technical experts to achieve this significant achievement."

Chu Xiaohua, Party secretary of ZhongtianHechuang Chemical Branch, also spoke highly of the catalyst's performance, noting that since the facility was put into operation, it has set new records in terms of operating life and cumulative output. He stressed that Clariant's methanol catalysts have already laid a solid foundation for four years of continuous operation, efficient maintenance and start-up, and he expects the next batch of catalysts to deliver even better results.

Zhongtian Hechuang Energy Co., Ltd. was established in 2007, located in Erduosi, Inner Mongolia. It is jointly invested and constructed by a number of well-known energy and chemical joint ventures such as Sinopec, China Coal Group, Shangneng Group and Inner Mongolia Manshi Group. The company operates the world's largest coal-based methanol-to-olefin (MTO) production facility with an annual capacity of up to 3.6 million tons of methanol, as well as 13,700 tons of polyethylene and polypropylene. Its methanol plant is also the largest in the world, using the Air Liquide Lurgi megame process and Clariant catalyst.

The MegaMax 800 catalyst showed higher activity than standard methanol synthesis catalysts even at lower reactor temperatures and pressures. It also has excellent selectivity, excellent stability and high toxicity resistance, which ensure extended productivity and improved energy efficiency, while reducing carbon emissions. The MegaMax 800 catalyst has demonstrated excellent performance in both large and small production plants, in all reactor types and feedstocks. To further optimize catalyst performance, Clariant also offers the CLARITY™ digital service portal, a platform that provides real-time data to help improve plant reliability, safety and profitability.

Given that methanol is a key intermediate for TrINA, the installation of ActiSorb S2 and ActiSorb S6 deep desulfurization systems is highly strategic. These systems are able to maintain sulfur concentrations below 10 ppb at the plant outlet, effectively protecting the downstream synthesis catalyst from upstream sulfur fluctuations. This advancement has enabled Zhongtrina to forgo a turnaround cycle, resulting in significant additional methanol production and economic benefits.