UTILIZATION OF CO2 AS A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF CARBON FOR PETROLEUM CHEMISTRY

An examination has been made of the scheme for combined processing of natural gas and CO2 with the production of methanol and/or dimethyl et her as commercial products or semiproducts for the synthesis of petroc hemicals and motor fuels. The primary processing of methane is carried out with the production of synthesis gas. CO2 is introduced into the process either at the stage of methane conversion (carbon dioxide conv ersion) or as an additional synthesis gas component. The high efficien cy of the direct synthesis of dimethyl ether from synthesis gas and th e scope for a considerable improvement in the methanol production proc ess have been noted. Taking account of the improved efficiency of indi vidual stages, it is assumed that the overall process will be acceptab le in the very near future.