The methanol extraction has a beneficial effect on the methanol yield
and requires a more compact sized reactor.
In ethanol case (2CO2 + 6H2 → C2H5OH + 3H2O),
a new process configuration through the intermediate DME (di-methyl ether)
synthesis is presented and compared to the conventional method based on CO2 conversion to CO in a reverse water gas shift (rWGS) reactor followed by the mixed alcohol synthesis reactor.