Patent ID: 6875794

Claim:
A method of manufacturing methanol comprising: reacting hydrocarbons with water vapor in a reformer to produce a synthesis gas comprising hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide; allowing reaction of the synthesis gas to take place over a methanol-synthesizing catalyst to produce a crude methanol; cooling said crude methanol; separating said cooled crude methanol into unreacted gas and liquid crude methanol; and distilling said liquid crude methanol to separate it into refined methanol and waste water comprising low boiling point organic compounds and high boiling point organic compounds; and wherein carbon dioxide in combustion exhaust gas to be discharged from said reformer is recovered in a carbon dioxide-recovering device, and that in feeding the carbon dioxide thus recovered to the upstream side and/or the downstream side of said reformer, a part of said unreacted gas is utilized as a purge gas, a portion of which being utilized as a fuel for a combustion device of said reformer, while the balance of said purge gas being utilized as a fuel for one or more other heating sources, and as an agent for desulfurizing raw gas, and wherein said unreacted gas comprises hydrogen.