Direct conversion of carbon dioxide into bulk chemicals and liquid fuels

30-Aug-2022 - China

High-efficiency utilization of CO₂ facilitates the reduction of CO₂ concentration in the global atmosphere and hence the alleviation of the greenhouse effect. The chemical utilization of CO₂, which refers to converting CO₂ into value-added chemicals and liquid fuels, has a distinct and direct CO₂ emission reduction effect, and can alleviate the energy crisis effectively. Using renewable H₂ from H₂O electrolysis, the direct conversion of CO₂ into bulk chemicals and liquid fuels via heterogeneous catalysis may not only solve the problem of hydrogen storage and transportation, but also reduce excessive dependence on fossil resources.

Recently, a team led by Prof. Yuhan Sun and Gao Peng from Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (SARI), Chinese Academy of Sciences reported recent efforts by their group aimed at developing high-performance heterogeneous catalysts for the conversion of CO₂ and H₂ in producing bulk chemicals (methanol, lower olefins, aromatics) and specific-range hydrocarbons (gasoline and jet fuel) with potential industrial applications.

Among the bulk chemicals, methanol is one of the practically important intermediate chemical products, and the catalytic hydrogenation of CO₂ to synthesize methanol has been extensively studied. In this study, the team have developed a Cu-based catalyst for CO₂ hydrogenation to methanol, exhibiting high stability, product selectivity, and catalytic activity. In 2020, they further used this catalyst and cooperated with CNOOC Fudao Ltd., and China Chengda Engineering Co., Ltd. to conduct a 5000 ton/year industrialization demonstration of CO₂ hydrogenation to methanol for approximately 2400 h with a total CO₂ conversion higher than 95% as well as the methanol selectivity higher than 97%.

Meanwhile, the group also focused on hydrogenation CO₂ to lower olefins, aromatics, gasoline-range and jet fuel-range hydrocarbons with potential industrial applications. They also demonstrate how to simultaneously achieve high target product selectivity and high catalyst stability, and elucidate catalysts structure-performance relationship, the nature of catalysts active sites, and mechanism of the reaction taking place over different catalyst systems for CO₂ hydrogenation.

Finally, the challenges and future perspectives for CO₂ hydrogenation were discussed and the author proposed that the scaling up of the preparation of catalytic materials as well as the development of high-efficiency reactors must be the focus of future studies in this field to achieve industrialization.

Original publication

Zixuan Zhou, Peng Gao; Direct carbon dioxide hydrogenation to produce bulk chemicals and liquid fuels via heterogeneous catalysis; Chinese Journal of Catalysis; Volume 43, Issue 8, August 2022, Pages 2045-2056

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