Abstract
Methyl formate is a key component for both defossilized industry and mobility. The current industrial production via carbonylation of methanol has various disadvantages such as high requirements on reactant purity and low methanol conversion rates. In addition, there is a great interest in replacing the conventional homogeneous catalyst with a heterogeneous one, among other things to improve the downstream processing. This is why new approaches for methyl formate are sought. This review summarizes promising approaches for methyl formate production using methanol as a reactant.
Highlights
Methyl formate is a key component for defossilizing industry and mobility
Building block allows for producing of a wide range of daughter products as well as the building block allows for producing of a wide range of daughter products as well as the utilization as a fuel or fuel additive
The use of methanol as a fuel in internal combustion engines requires the addition of methyl formate to ensure year-round use combustion engines requires the addition of methyl formate to ensure year-round use even even at low temperatures
Summary
Methyl formate (MF) is one of the most important building blocks in C1 chemistry and it is of great interest as an emission reducing fuel additive. MF can be synthesized from CO and methanol and can be understood as chemical storage for CO. If methanol is produced from CO2 and hydrogen, which is generated through water electrolysis by renewable energy, an access to green MF is created. This way a (partial) substitution for classical i.e., fossil feedstock borne petrochemicals can be realized while reducing CO2 emissions. 1925, MF has been produced by carbonylation of methanol with sodium methanolate as a catalyst on an industrial scale. Development has gone on since, and there are alternatives to the sodium methanolate process that may be more efficient or economically more attractive, or they are more sustainable
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