The Sustainable Synthesis of Methanol – Renewable Energy, Carbon Dioxide and an Anthropogenic Carbon Cycle

Abstract

The chapter looks at the sustainable synthesis of methanol in the context of renewable energy and the anthropogenic production of carbon dioxide. The limitations of the hydrogen economy are discussed together with the possibility of a methanol based economy. The synthesis of methanol, carbon dioxide capture, sustainable hydrogen and syn-gas production with methane as a fossil bridge in the methanol economy are described together with methanol as a hydrogen and energy vector. Commercial examples are given to illustrate the feasibility of the processes examined.