Towards Carbon‐Neutral CO₂ Conversion to Hydrocarbons

Abstract

With fossil fuels still predicted to contribute close to 80 % of the primary energy consumption by 2040, methods to limit further CO2 emissions in the atmosphere are urgently needed to avoid the catastrophic scenarios associated with global warming. In parallel with improvements in energy efficiency and CO2 storage, the conversion of CO2 has emerged as a complementary route with significant potential. In this work we present the direct thermo-catalytic conversion of CO2 to hydrocarbons using a novel iron nanoparticle-carbon nanotube (Fe@CNT) catalyst. We adopted a holistic and systematic approach to CO2 conversion by integrating process optimization-identifying reaction conditions to maximize conversion and selectivity towards long chain hydrocarbons and/or short olefins-with catalyst optimization through the addition of promoters. The result is the production of valuable hydrocarbons in a manner that can approach carbon neutrality under realistic industrial process conditions.

Kinetics of CO2 Hydrogenation to Hydrocarbons over Iron–Silica Catalysts

“…[7,8] This paper,h owever, focusesonthe combination of the reverse water-gas shift reaction (RWGS) and the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process, ar oute which has attracted ag reat deal of attention in the literature. [2,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] The majority of studies in the area, though, have focusedo n 'traditional" Fischer-Tropsch catalysts with iron-and cobaltbased systemsr epresenting as ignificant portion of the work. [1,2] Generally,cobalt-based catalysts give ahigh selectivity to methane, most likely due to their poor water-gas shift activity.…”

The effect of Fe2O3 crystal phases on CO2 hydrogenation

“…In order to improve the performance of Fe catalysts in CO 2 hydrogenation, the effects of promoter [8,10,13,15,19–24], supporter [15,20,22,24,25], preparation method [8,13,15,21–26] and reducing agent [8] are studied very much. In these studies, iron oxide almost presents in α-Fe 2 O 3 [15,21,26] or Fe 3 O 4 [25] crystal phase in the as-prepared catalysts.…”

Catalytic behavior of metal catalysts in high-temperature RWGS reaction: In-situ FT-IR experiments and first-principles calculations

“…The demand for carbon-neutral technologies has increased over the last two decades because of the negative effects of global warming and climate change caused by excessive carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions12. Various techniques345 have been studied to directly or indirectly reduce and/or utilize CO 2 in the atmosphere.…”