What is gasoline made from? Gasoline production technology. Refinery

In today's world, gasoline prices are steadily rising, despite the fact that the cost of oil is constantly falling.

In this regard, many are beginning to think about whether it is possible to make gasoline at home and how to do it.

Getting from coal

There are two effective and proven methods. Both of these methods were developed by German scientists at the beginning of the last century.

During the Great Patriotic War, almost all German equipment moved with the help of coal fuel.

After all, as you know, there are no oil fields in Germany, but coal mining has been established. The Germans made diesel and gasoline synthetic fuel from brown coal.

Surprisingly, in terms of chemistry, coal is not as different from oil as many people think. They have one basis - it is hydrogen and combustible carbon compounds. True, there is less hydrogen in coal. A combustible mixture can be obtained by leveling the hydrogen indicators.

You can do this in the following ways:

hydrogenation or otherwise liquefaction;
gasification.

What is hydrogenation

Approximately 80 kg of gasoline can be obtained from one ton of coal. At the same time, coal must contain 35% of volatile substances.

To start processing, the coal is finely ground to a powder state. Then the coal dust is thoroughly dried. After that, it is mixed with fuel oil or oil until a paste-like mass is obtained.

Hydrogenation is the addition of the missing hydrogen to the coal mixture. We place the raw material in a specialized autoclave and heat it. The temperature in it should be at around 500 degrees, and the pressure should be 200 bar.

In order to form gasoline, two phases are required:

liquid phase;
vapor phase.

Several rather complex chemical reactions take place in the autoclave. Coal is saturated with the necessary hydrogen, and the complex particles included in its composition break down into simple ones.

As a result, we get diesel fuel or gasoline. This will depend on the process itself.

Once again, the whole process of hydrogenation point by point:

grinding coal to a state of dust;
adding oil to it;
heating in an autoclave at high temperature.

It is very important to make the right equipment. At home, it is quite difficult to make it yourself, because the pressure in autoclaves is higher than in oxygen cylinders.

It is important: remember safety precautions. The process itself is quite explosive. Never smoke near the unit and do not light a fire.

Gasification

Gasification is the decomposition of solid fuel into gases.

Later, the missing substances are added to the obtained gases and transformed into a liquid state to obtain gasoline.

There are several ways to convert coal into gasoline by gasification.

The first method can theoretically be used at home. It is called the Fischer-Tropsch method. But this method is rather laborious in execution, requires too complex equipment, and in the end turns out to be unprofitable, since a lot of coal is spent and finished gasoline is cheaper.

In addition, a large amount of carbon dioxide is released, the recycling process becomes very dangerous at home. Therefore, we will not analyze this method in more detail.

There is also a thermal gasification method. It is carried out by heating the raw material in the complete absence of oxygen. Naturally, this also requires the appropriate equipment. After all, the temperature of decomposition of coal into gas is 1200 degrees.

The main advantage of this method is that part of the gases is sent to the synthesis of gasoline fuel, and part to the heating of raw materials. This helps keep costs down. Thus, the coal itself heats up.

Making gasoline from old tires

You can make gasoline with your own hands using old rubber tires.

This will require:

rubber waste;
bake;
distiller;
refractory containers.

Expert advice: do not make gasoline in a city apartment. The process is accompanied by smoke with a pungent smell of rubber.

Step-by-step instructions for making gasoline from rubber tires are as follows:

It is necessary to prepare a metal barrel with a tight-fitting lid. In addition, a heat-resistant tube is required. It must be connected from above to the cover. This way you get a homemade retort. Then you need a container for condensate and another small container with two tubes to create a water seal. One tube is lowered into the water, and the second is held above it.
Next, you need to assemble a device for producing hydrocarbons in liquid form. To do this, we connect a tube from our retort to the condensate. Then we also connect the condensate and the water seal with a hose. We connect the second tube to the stove on which we install the retort. The result is a closed system for cracking at high temperatures.
We put the rubber in the retort and tightly close the lid, then it is necessary to heat it over high heat. At high temperatures, the rubber molecules are destroyed. Sublimation occurs, i.e., the transition from a solid state to a gaseous state bypassing the liquid stage. This gas then enters our condenser, where the temperature is much lower. Vapors condense, and as a result, we get oil in liquid form.
The resulting substance must be purified, for this you need a distiller, which is often used when using moonshine stills. The suspension is brought to a boil at a temperature of 200 degrees, and gasoline is obtained.

Note: Avoid open flames during the distillation process. It is best to use an electric stove.

Alternative ways

Gasoline is made not only from coal and rubber tires.

It can be obtained from garbage, firewood, pellets, leaves, nut shells, seed husks, corn kernels, peat, straw, reeds, weeds, reeds, old sleepers, dry bird and animal manure, plastic bottles, medical waste, etc.

The process of producing gasoline at home, discussed above, is not as complicated as it seems at first glance. Terms such as hydrogenation, gasification, etc. can be misleading. But in fact, setting up production and making gasoline with your own hands is not as difficult as it seems.

We bring to your attention an interesting report on how to make gasoline at home:

Gasoline rises in price - although oil falls! How strange everything is arranged in our country. Well, okay, many of us are thinking - is it possible to make gasoline at home? And how is it done in general? What kind of complex technical process is this, after which gasoline now costs just like “gold”. Today I decided to write a short article, where we will consider the manufacturing process of this fuel. You'll see that it's not as difficult as it seems...

As you know, gasoline is made from oil, if you like, then this is a "blank" for the future fuel. By the way, from the residues after distillation, they get a lot more, for example, kerosene, fuel oil, etc. So a liter of this “fossil” is divided into many components.

In turn, oil can be decomposed into two main components, these are carbon (about 85%) and hydrogen (about 15%). They are interconnected by hundreds of bonds, which we then call hydrocarbons - in turn, they can also be divided into complex and light compositions - but all these compounds, in fact, are oil.

Gasoline is extracted from it in two main ways - this is the “direct distillation” process, and a more advanced one that has a lot of names - platforming, reforming, hydroreforming, but the most popular now are thermal and catalytic cracking. Now in more detail.

Straight distillation process

This is a very ancient method, it was invented at the dawn of gasoline engines. If you want, it does not differ in super technologies, and it can easily be repeated at every home, more on that later.

The physical process itself consists in heating the oil and evaporating the required compositions from it in turn. . The process takes place at atmospheric pressure and a closed container in which a gas outlet tube is installed. When heated, volatile compounds begin to evaporate from oil:

Temperature from 35 to 200 ° C - we get gasoline
Temperature from 150 to 305 °C - kerosene
From 150 to 360 °С - diesel fuel.

Then they are simply condensed into another container.

But this method has a lot of disadvantages:

We get very little fuel - so only 150 ml is obtained from one liter. gasoline.
The resulting gasoline is very low octane, about 50 - 60 units. As you understand, in order to catch up to 92 - 95, you need a lot of additives.

In general, this process is hopelessly outdated, in modern conditions it is simply not commercially profitable. Therefore, many processing enterprises have now switched to a more profitable, advanced manufacturing method.

Thermal and catalytic cracking

This process of obtaining gasoline is very complicated, you can’t get it at home in this way - definitely! I do not want to climb into the jungle, load you with complex chemical and physical terms. Therefore, I will try to tell what is said "on the fingers."

The essence of cracking is simple . Oil is chemically and physically decomposed into its constituents - that is, large, complex hydrocarbon molecules are made into smaller and simpler ones that form gasoline.

What does it give us, what are the advantages:

The output of gasoline increases several times, up to 40 - 50%. That is, compared with distillation, we already have almost half a liter of fuel.
The octane number is much, increased - usually it is about 70 - 80 units. Of course, you can’t ride it either, but you need a minimum of additives before you get the finished product.

In general, this process is clearly the future. That's why there are so many of them today - platforming, reforming, hydroreforming, cracking. Each process tries to increase the amount of fuel produced + improve the octane rating, ideally to do without additives at all.

Octane and dilution

I still want to talk a little about diluting the original gasoline. That is, how do we get the octane number equal to 92, 95 and 98, which are used now.

The octane number characterizes the resistance of gasoline fuel to detonation, in simple words it can be described as follows - in the fuel mixture (gasoline + air), which is compressed in the combustion chamber, the flame spreads at a speed of 1500 - 2500 m / s. If the mixture ignition pressure is too high, then additional peroxides begin to form, the explosion force increases - this is a simple detonation process that is in no way useful for engine pistons.

It is the resistance of the fuel to detonation that is estimated by the octane number. Now there are installations that contain a reference fluid - usually a mixture of isooctane (it has a number equal to "100") and heptane (it has exactly "0").

Then two fuels are compared on the stand, one obtained from oil (gasoline mixture), the second from isooctane. They are compared if the engines work the same way, they look at the second mixture and the number of isooctane in it - thus, they get the octane number. Of course, this is all ideally, laboratory tests.

In practice, knocking can be caused by many other engine problems, such as incorrect throttle position, lean fuel mixture, incorrect ignition, engine overheating, deposits in the fuel system, etc.

To summarize, now alcohols, ethers, alkyls are used as additives to increase the octane number, they are very environmentally friendly, as well as additives for. The ratio in the composition is approximately the same - the composition of catholic cracking (73 - 75%), alkyls (25 - 30%), butylene fractions (5 - 7%). For comparison, earlier tetraethyl lead was used to increase the octane number, it perfectly improves fuel, but it causes severe harm to the environment (all living things), and also settles in the lungs, and can cause cancer. So now it has been abandoned.

How to make gasoline at home - instructions

You know, my grandfather would have easily and simply made gasoline fuel at home! All because the moonshine still comes in handy, suitable for this event. It remains to find crude oil somewhere!

Okay, step by step process:

We are looking for a sealed container, there must be a gas outlet pipe on top, which will go to another container. A high temperature thermometer should also be installed to monitor the temperature inside.
Now we pour oil into the first container, put it on heating (you can even use gas, but it is explosive, because we get gasoline), it is better to use the electric option. We put the second container in a cold room, about + 5 degrees, if this is not possible then we put the tube that goes to the container in the cold, but at least cover it with ice from the refrigerator.
In the first tank, we start heating, and as we have already dismantled from above, a temperature of 35 - 200 degrees is enough for us to light fractions (gasoline) begin to evaporate. Usually already 100 - 120 degrees is enough. We heat it up, and since the vapors enter the cold container or tube through the tube, they condense - they fall into a liquid state, into the second container.

Gasoline has become scarce - many motorists are thinking about what else to invent to save it, or even replace it. Ideas are put forward, disputes arise. It turns out, however, that not all of their participants clearly imagine what the current motor gasoline is. We decided to dedicate our today's lecture, prepared according to literary sources, to this topic.

Gasoline is known to be derived from oil.. This natural liquid basically consists of only two chemical elements - carbon (84-87%) and hydrogen (12-14%). But they combine with each other in a great variety of combinations, forming substances that we call hydrocarbons. A mixture of various liquid hydrocarbons is oil.

If oil is heated at atmospheric pressure, then the lightest hydrocarbons evaporate from it first, and as the temperature rises, more and more heavy ones. Condensing them separately, we get different fractions; those that boiled away in the temperature range from 35° to 205°C are considered gasoline (for comparison, the condensate obtained at temperatures from 150 to 315°C is called kerosene, from 150 to 360°C - diesel fuel).

However, this method (it is called direct distillation) produces very little gasoline - only 10-15% of the distilled oil. A huge fleet of cars that need this type of fuel cannot be “feeded” like that. Therefore, the bulk of commercial gasoline is produced as a result of the so-called secondary oil refining processes, which include thermal and catalytic cracking, platforming, reforming, hydroreforming, and many more. These processes are complex, but they are united by a common goal - to break up large and complex molecules of heavy hydrocarbons into smaller and lighter ones, forming gasoline. Without going into the technological details of secondary processing, we only note that it allows not only to increase the yield of gasoline from oil by several times, but also provides a higher product quality compared to direct distillation.

So, light oil fractions, which can serve as fuel for carburetor automobile engines, have been obtained and it is necessary to prepare commercial gasoline with certain properties from them. We will talk about these properties.

Heat of combustion. The chemical energy contained in any fuel is released in the form of heat during its combustion, and it can be converted into mechanical work. This is exactly what happens in the motors of our cars. The specific heat of combustion of motor gasoline is a fairly constant value, each

a kilogram of this fuel releases approximately 10,600 kilocalories - a serious boost of energy, which is sufficient, for example, to lift a weight of 4.5 thousand tons to a meter height.

Octane number. In a mixture of gasoline vapors with air, which is compressed in the combustion chamber of the engine, the flame propagates at a speed of 1500-2500 m/s. If the compression is too high, peroxides are formed in the combustible mixture, and combustion becomes explosive. This is the detonation well known to motorists, which leads to an emergency engine failure.

The knock resistance of gasoline is measured by its octane number. It is determined by comparing the test gasoline with a special reference fuel consisting of a mixture of isooctane (its octane number is taken as 100) and heptane (taken as zero). How many percent of isooctane in a mixture on which the engine runs in the same way as on a given gasoline, such is the octane number of this gasoline.

Of course, the motor setup in this experiment is special, research, and all the conditions of the experiment are standardized. If we talk about driving under normal operating conditions, then it would be wrong to attribute detonation only to the properties of gasoline itself. The danger of its occurrence increases due to the following: large throttle opening in the carburetor, lean fuel mixture, increased ignition timing, increased engine temperature, reduced crankshaft speed, a large amount of carbon deposits in the cylinders, adverse atmospheric conditions (high temperature and low air humidity, elevated barometric pressure). By the way, the combination of these factors often leads the driver to erroneous conclusions, they say, bad gasoline was poured at the gas station, or vice versa - that's what a good engine does not detonate even on low-octane gasoline.

It should be noted here that the octane number of gasoline is determined primarily by what fractions, what hydrocarbons predominate in it. High-octane components include alkyl gasoline (a mixture of aromatic hydrocarbons), toluene, isooctane, alkylate (a mixture of isoparaffin hydrocarbons).

It is possible, however, to increase the octane number of gasoline by adding a special additive to it - an antiknock agent. Until recently, tetraethyl lead (TES) or tetramethyl lead was very widely used for this purpose, preparing leaded gasolines known to everyone. But when they are used, lead oxide is deposited on candles, valves and the walls of the combustion chamber, and this is harmful to the engine. The main thing, however, in another thermal power plant is a strong poison, its presence in exhaust gases poisons the atmosphere and harms people and all living things in general. Therefore, now everywhere, including in our country, ethyl liquid is being abandoned, despite the associated increase in the cost of gasoline.

The fractional composition objectively characterizes the volatility of motor fuel. The lower the temperature at which 10% of gasoline is distilled, the better its starting properties, but the greater the risk of vapor locks in the fuel supply line, as well as carburetor icing. The relatively low distillation temperature of 50% gasoline indicates its good volatility in operating conditions, but again, its ability to cause icing. Finally, a high distillation temperature of 90% indicates that there are a lot of heavy fractions in gasoline, which contribute to the dilution of the oil in the crankcase and the associated deterioration in the lubrication of engine parts.

We just mentioned vapor lock and carburetor icing. The first, obviously, does not require special explanation, since this phenomenon is familiar to every motorist. It should only be noted that for commercial gasoline supplied to gas stations in the cold season (from October to March inclusive), the distillation temperature of 10% of the total volume is 55°C, and in summer - 70°C. That is why "winter" gasoline, stored until the hot season, can be pretty tormented by vapor locks when driving, especially in street congestion.

As for the icing of the carburetor, it is worth saying a few words about it. The evaporation of a liquid is always associated with the absorption of heat and cooling of the evaporation zone. The same goes for the carburetor. One of the real experiments showed that at an air temperature of +7 ° C, two minutes after starting the engine, the throttle valve cooled down to -14 ° C; if there are no protective measures, the formation of ice in such a case is inevitable. The main of these measures is the intake of air into the air filter from the zone of the exhaust pipes (“winter” position of the intake). It should be borne in mind that the conditions under which carburetor icing poses a real danger are as follows: air temperature from -2 ° to + 10 ° C, relative humidity - 70-100%. The conclusion is simple: although many carburetors are liquid-heated, and a special anti-icing additive is introduced into modern commercial gasolines, nevertheless, with the advent of cold weather, one must not miss the moment and switch the air intake to the winter position in a timely manner.

Resin formation. Over time, chemical reactions can occur in the liquid hydrocarbon environment, resulting in the formation of sticky rubber-like substances called resins. They are very harmful because they clog the carburetor and deposit on the intake valve stems. The predisposition of one or another commercial gasoline to gum formation can be different, it depends on the fractional and chemical composition of the mixture, but there are also general external conditions that should be borne in mind. Let's list them. The more gasoline comes into contact with air, the faster resins form in it, so resinification in a car tank goes much faster than in a canister filled to the top and clogged. Heat and light, as well as the presence of water, accelerate resin precipitation. The material from which the container is made also plays a role: copper and lead enhance resin formation.

Hygroscopicity. In principle, water does not mix with pure gasoline, it sinks to the bottom of the vessel and remains there as a separate layer. But a very small amount of it (60-100 grams per ton of gasoline) still goes into solution. In aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene), the solubility of water is 8-10 times greater, therefore, those commercial gasolines that contain such components may contain a small, but still noticeable amount of water. This is not a hindrance to fuel combustion, but if the solution is saturated, then under certain conditions (say, when the temperature drops), water can stand out from the fuel and cause a lot of trouble - to form ice crystals in the carburetor dosing elements or contribute to their oxidation. Therefore, gasoline should be kept as far away from water as possible.

Of course, today we have not mentioned everything that concerns gasoline and is of known practical interest to motorists. “Behind the scenes” we still have topics that deserve a separate discussion: about the assessment, labeling, features and range of commercial gasoline. But a few words about the composition of the two most common brands today still need to be said here.

Gasoline A-76. It is based on the product of catalytic reforming or catalytic cracking, which is mixed with thermally cracked or direct distillation gasoline. To obtain the desired octane number, either ethyl liquid or high-octane hydrocarbon components are added to this mixture.

Gasoline AI-93 in leaded version is a product of mild mode catalytic reforming (75–80%), to which toluene (10–15%), alkyl benzene (8–10%), and ethyl liquid are added. Unleaded gasoline AI-93 obtained on the basis of the product of catalytic reforming of a hard mode (70-75%) with the addition of alkylbenzene (25-28%) and butane-butylene fraction (5-7%).

Information about the machine for the production of gasoline from water and household gas

This material was published about 10 years ago in the journal Paritet. The idea of obtaining liquid fuel from gas and water seemed interesting to us (we simply did not know about such a technology for manufacturing synthesis gasoline before). Of course, the information given in the material is not enough to make an appropriate working installation. But we hope that this material will help our do-it-yourselfers to find a replacement for gasoline that has been rising in price lately.

General description of the apparatus for the production of gasoline from water and household gas

The liquid received by means of this device - methanol (methyl alcohol).

As you know, methanol in its pure form is used as a solvent and as a high-octane additive to motor fuel, it is also the highest octane (octane number is 150) gasoline. This is the same gasoline that fills the tanks of racing motorcycles and cars. As foreign studies show, an engine running on methanol lasts many times longer than when using conventional gasoline, its power increases by 20%. The exhaust of an engine running on this fuel is environmentally friendly, and when exhaust gases are checked for toxicity, there are practically no harmful substances in them.

The apparatus for producing methanol is easy to manufacture, does not require special knowledge and scarce parts, is trouble-free in operation, and has small dimensions. By the way, its performance, which depends on many factors, is also determined by its dimensions. The apparatus, the scheme and description of the assembly of which we bring to your attention, with an outer diameter of the mixer D = 75 mm, gives 3 liters of finished fuel per hour, the mass of the assembled apparatus is about 20 kg, its dimensions are approximately as follows: height - 20 cm, length - 50 cm, width - 30 cm.

Warning: methanol is a strong poison. It is a colorless liquid with a boiling point of 65°C, has an odor similar to ordinary drinking alcohol, and is miscible in all respects with water and many organic liquids. Remember that 30 mm of drunk methanol is deadly! It is clear that ordinary gasoline is no less dangerous.

The principle of operation and operation of the apparatus for the manufacture of gasoline from water and domestic gas

Tap water is connected to the “Water Inlet”, from which one part of the water is sent (through the faucet) to the mixer, and the other part (already through its own faucet) enters the refrigerator, passing through which it cools both synthesis gas and gasoline condensate (Fig. . 1).

Domestic natural gas connected to the "Gas inlet" pipeline is fed into the same mixer. Since the temperature in the mixer is 100 ... 120 ° C (the mixer is heated with a burner), a heated mixture of gas and water vapor is formed in it, which enters reactor No. 1 from the mixer. The latter is filled with catalyst No. 1, consisting of 25% nickel and 75% aluminum (in the form of chips or grains, industrial grade GIAL-16). In the reactor No. 1 heated by the burner, under the influence of high temperature (from 500 ° C and above), synthesis gas is formed. Next, the heated synthesis gas is cooled in the refrigerator at least to a temperature of 30...40°C. After the refrigerator, the cooled synthesis gas is compressed in a compressor, which can be a compressor from any household or industrial refrigerator. Further, the synthesis gas compressed to a pressure of 5...50 atmospheres enters reactor No. 2, filled with catalyst No. 2 (SNM-1 brand), consisting of copper shavings (80%) and zinc (20%). In this reactor No. 2, which is the main unit of the apparatus, steam of synthesis gasoline is formed. The temperature in the reactor should not exceed 270°C. Since there is no temperature control in the reactor, it is necessary that the compressed synthesis gas entering the reactor is already at the appropriate temperature, which is achieved in the refrigerator by adjusting the cooling water flow with a valve. The temperature in the reactor is controlled by a thermometer. I draw your attention to the fact that it is desirable to maintain this temperature within 200 ... 250 ° C, but it can be lower.

From the reactor, gasoline vapor and unreacted synthesis gas enter the same refrigerator, where gasoline vapor is condensed. Further, the condensate and unreacted synthesis gas are discharged to the condenser, where the finished gas is accumulated, which is drained from the condenser into a container.

The pressure gauge installed in the condenser serves to control the pressure in it, which is maintained within 5 ... recycling. The faucet for draining gasoline from the condenser is adjusted so that clean liquid gasoline without gas constantly comes out of the condenser. In this case, it will be better if the level of gasoline in the condenser begins to increase slightly during operation, rather than decrease. But the most optimal case is when the level of gasoline in the condenser remains constant (the position of the level can be controlled using a glass built into the wall of the condenser or in some other way). The tap that regulates the flow of water into the mixer is set in such a position that there is no gas in the resulting gasoline.

Principal designs of the main components of the installation are shown in fig. 2-6.

D - outer diameter; L - height.

Launching the Gasoline Making Machine

Open gas access to the mixer (water is still being supplied to the latter), ignite the burners under the mixer and reactor No. 1. The faucet that regulates the flow of water into the refrigerator is fully open, the compressor is on, the faucet for draining gasoline from the condenser is closed, and the faucet on the condenser-mixer “pipeline” is fully open.

Then the faucet is slightly opened, which regulates the access of water to the mixer, and the faucet on the aforementioned “pipeline” sets the desired pressure in the condenser, controlling it with a pressure gauge. But in no case do not close the faucet on the "pipeline" completely !!! Then, after five minutes, the temperature in the reactor No. 2 is brought to 200...250°C with a tap for supplying water to the mixer. Then, on the condenser, the gasoline drain cock is slightly opened, and a stream of gasoline should come out of the cock. If it goes on all the time, open a larger tap, but if gasoline is mixed with gas, open the tap for supplying water to the mixer. In general, the more performance you set up the device, the better. You can check the water content in gasoline (methanol) with an alcohol meter. The density of gasoline (methanol) is 793 kg/m³.

All components of this apparatus are made of suitable stainless steel (which is better) or ordinary steel pipes. Copper tubes are suitable as thin connecting pipes. In the refrigerator, it is necessary that the ratio between the lengths (heights) of the coils for synthesis gas (X) and synthesis gasoline vapor (Y) be equal to 4. That is, for example, if the height of the refrigerator is 300 mm, the length X should be equal to 240 mm , a Y, respectively, 60 mm (240/60=4). The more turns of the coil fit in the refrigerator on both sides, the better. All faucets are used from gas welding burners. Instead of taps that regulate the draining of gasoline from the condenser and the flow of unreacted synthesis gas into the mixer, pressure reducing valves from household gas cylinders can be used.

Well, that's probably all. In conclusion, I would like to add that this design for home-made gasoline was published in one of the issues of the Paritet magazine.

And now the comments of the author-inventor Gennady Nikolayevich Vaks in the form of answers to questions from home-made people. (In the future, the author repeatedly improved this first installation of his, therefore, in the comments he often refers to "new technologies" that are absent in the apparatus described here. - Editor's note.)

Do's and Don'ts

What is the consideration regarding the number of compressors required?

My setup was built in 1991, when gas cost something like 40 kopecks, and I made this car for my own pleasure. The apparatus was designed for high pressure and required two compressors. Now we have improved it, calculated it, it turns out that it is possible to carry out the process by supplying normalized air. This simplification appeared due to the creation of pressure surges in the magnetic reactor. Thus, impulses resembling pops arise inside the medium. These pops and their generator are the invention that we brought into development. Most of the things that we have described in connection with the methanol plant are well known.

I am not a chemist, I am a physicist and took data from the literature. New, which we also introduced, is a very compact heat exchanger. And the last thing: if in classic methanol reactors (there are many of them, they are common), the particle size distribution of spherical catalyst granules is usually from 1 to 3 cm, we made the catalyst finely dispersed. But so that the permeability of the gas does not deteriorate, it is precisely periodic compression that occurs, in plasma physics this is called the pinch effect.

Can not say. The very chemical composition of the catalyst is taken from classical books. The first methanol plants operated with a zinc oxide catalyst only. It is basically zinc white, a white powder. But in the future, chemists began to make experiments on the oxides of copper, chromium and cobalt. There are a huge number of reports. There is a whole rack in the State Public Library for Science and Technology. These catalysts are more efficient than zinc oxide. A good catalyst is obtained from crushed old "silver" coins, which consist of nickel and copper. They, these sawdust, must, of course, be burned, oxidized.

And chrome can not be added?

You may not add. Apparently, the composition of the optimal catalyst has not yet been found.

The circuit must be sealed. But the catalysts must be taken out and loaded into the reactors.

In the installation, the synthesis reaction proceeds at 350°C. Therefore, if we marked the fittings in the diagram and someone made them a little wrong, as they should, carbon monoxide, hydrogen and vaporous methanol could seep into the room. I note that all these gases are dangerous. So we made a recommendation - to use welding, and this recommendation, in principle, remains in force. Well, if someone makes, with all the precautions for changing the catalyst, an opening plug, of course, with a copper gasket, to guarantee the tightness of the process, this is probably possible. But there is no certainty, so you should not be too lazy - weld the cover with argon, then boil it, replace the catalyst and weld it all over again.

Is a vertical reactor required?

Vertical is a must.

Why does the catalyst deteriorate in reactors?

The main disease of all reactors where a catalyst is used is that the latter becomes poisoned after some time, as chemists say. Let's say there is an impurity in the gas - sulfur or something else. Some kind of film appears on the surface of the catalyst granules. It is possible to organize the vibration of the catalyst particles, as a result of which it is self-cleaning when the granules rub against each other. This cleaning is also facilitated by the fact that some catalyst granules are more abrasive than others.

How is water and methane mixed?

Of course, water and methane must be supplied to the mixer in a certain ratio. This is done by the classical method using a water dispenser and a methane dispenser. We have given up dispensers. The fact is that at temperatures of the order of 80...100°C, the pressure of saturating vapors becomes almost atmospheric (in fact, water therefore boils at a temperature of 100°C). So, the water vapor that will be in the methane bubbles is quite enough to carry out the conversion reaction. There is a serious technical issue here. During our experiments, it turned out that when you pass gas through a small crumb from below in order to “break” it, the gas always finds a path for itself, as a result, the rest of the dispersant does not work, that is, it becomes a cork. Therefore, you need to constantly knock down - break the bubbles, which is achieved with the help of an electromagnetic vibrator. Then there are more bubbles, which, while rising, are completely saturated with water.

How is the percentage of methane and water regulated?

It is mainly temperature controlled. In general, this process is very complicated. The system of instrumentation for such processes occupies a solid room. I was at the Tallinn methanol plant and saw this most complex system. Of course, we couldn't repeat it. But still, we found a way out of the situation by reducing all this instrumentation to one wick. The smaller its flame, the less unreacted methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide remained in the reactor. The fewer of them react, the more flame wicks will be at the outlet of the reactor. Thus, you yourself can optimize the process. After all, gas from the network comes evenly. As a result, the main task of the operator is to do everything to reduce the flame of the wick. Spend a day or two and learn how to regulate.

Is there enough gas pressure in the line?

The pressure is what it is, let it be. You still can't increase or decrease it.

What if freon vapor gets into the system? After all, the compressor is filled with freon oil.

If you look closely, it's made in such a way that the oil can't come out. And if it goes through the system, then nothing terrible will happen.

Is it possible to replace gas burners with electric heaters?

Can. But it's expensive, isn't it? Electricity is more expensive than gas. Gas can be taken directly from one burner of a gas stove. The length of the flame is approximately 120...150 mm.

How tight is the temperature control?

Not very tough. Within 100°C. You could, of course, install a thermocouple. But most do-it-yourselfers would not be able to graduate it. Platinum thermocouples are also very expensive. The easiest way to monitor the temperature is with thermal paints or even alloys. Each has its own melting point. There should be an alloy like high-melting solder.

How to start the installation?

Turn on the burners first. Throughout the system, start up the gas and light the wick. The gas begins to pass through the dispersant and becomes saturated with water. The gas continues to burn in the wick. Nothing else is happening. The saturation of the gas with water continues, the burners burn. The temperature in the reactor rises to 350...800°C. The conversion of methane begins, which turns into carbon monoxide and hydrogen. At the same time, methane partially remains intact, while carbon dioxide also appears along the way. The excess water is still running. The process is endothermic, that is, with the absorption of heat. While the heat exchangers (nodes) are warming up, the wick will burn with variable intensity. During the conversion, heat is released, so the process will continue on its own, it starts to swing itself.

What is the expected service life of such a plant?

The unit will work for a long time, only the life of the catalyst will stop continuous operation. Much here depends on the contamination of the gas, on the properties of the catalyst. If there is a lot of sulfur in the gas, sulfuric acid can form, it is aggressive at high temperatures.

I also want to make some clarification. It was previously mentioned that the tubes for refrigerators are thick-walled, 7 m long. The fact is that earlier it was planned to make heat exchangers in the form of coils. And then we simplified them and made them box-shaped with filler.

What is the fundamental need to use a refrigerator compressor in the installation?

In its durability, reliability, noiselessness, availability.

Advice and experience of practitioners who have made installations for the production of gasoline

Gennady Ivanovich Fedan, mechanic, inventor, he has many of his own developments. His special hobby is the car. He is a mining engineer by profession, a graduate of the Donetsk Polytechnic University. He worked at one time as a speedway service mechanic, and then he got acquainted with the use of methanol.

Here is what he said: “About eight years since we started using methanol in the car. During the first two years we fought against corrosion. Water condensate formed, it was necessary to neutralize it somehow. Basically, corrosion affected the piston system. In Zaporozhets, the engine itself is cast iron, and the carburetor is duralumin. The piston system is steel. Corroded valves, valve seats. We tried adding castor oil. It greatly improves compression. Aeromodellers, for example, use methanol with the addition of 15% castor oil. But again, there is a lot of corrosion: after each use of this mixture, everything must be washed.

We saved ourselves from this by adding aviation oil to the methanol. For 20 liters of methanol, we add 1 liter of MS-20 aviation oil. Our traditional automotive oils have been abandoned because they form soot when burned. As a result, valves burn. Aviation oil, on the other hand, has a high viscosity, does not allow the surface to be wetted, and due to this, corrosion does not occur. So, in a mixture of 5% MS-20, the rest is methanol.

I must say that methanol is in many ways very attractive as an automotive fuel. By the way, we have an old, rather worn-out engine, but it works fine with methanol. At speeds above average, it makes sense to add water. In this case, the fuel reserve of the engine increases. I'm still experimentally specifying the dosage. I am developing an installation so that there is a dosed addition of water depending on the operating mode of the engine. As soon as high speeds go, injection begins.

Let's say for some reason you need to temporarily or permanently switch to gasoline. For these cases, I simplified the adjustment of the main fuel jet. The fact is that under methanol, the cross section of the jet must be increased. If you leave the jet as it was for gasoline, then when using methanol, power will drop. To prevent this from happening, you need to increase the cross section of the jet, and the engine will work perfectly.

In winter, an engine with methanol starts much easier than with gasoline, literally within a few seconds. There is no detonation at all. Another positive thing. Often it was necessary to provide assistance to the owners of the "Lada", which formed an ice plug in the fuel path. It happens all the time. They sell gasoline diluted with water. It cannot be determined by eye. The man bought, flooded - and that's it. In winter, an ice plug forms in the fuel system. You have to disassemble the engine, flush everything. Motorists spend up to two days on this. Meanwhile, the traffic jam can be eliminated literally within two hours. I take 2 liters of methanol, pour it into the fuel system, and the plug dissolves. No engine disassembly.