Methanol-to-hydrocarbon chemistry: The carbon pool (r)evolution

Mechanistic investigations related to the conversion of methanol, a single-carbon molecule, to higher hydrocarbons ranging from olefins to fuels, have arguably been one of the most active and controversial areas in heterogeneous catalysis research during the last thirty years. In this Perspectives article, we review the evolution of the discovery of the carbon pool mechanism, which in total proved to be the pivotal mechanistic discovery related to the catalytic conversion of methanol to hydrocarbons via solid acid catalysts. In addition to acknowledging the now well-known open literature on the topic, a unique aspect of this article is the inclusion of discoveries described in the patent literature that may be less familiar to practicing scientists in the field, but which contain some of the first discoveries in the carbon-pool area and capture their context relative to the practice of methanol-to-hydrocarbon chemistries. Finally, we discuss the larger implications of the carbon pool mechanism to catalysis in general, and reflect on the current state of methanol-to-hydrocarbon (MTH) commercialization and application worldwide.