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Towards a feasible and stable thermocatalytic conversion of CO₂ to methanol and E-fuels


    Problem Statement

    Unarguably, CO₂ is a crucial concern affecting climate change. To address the issue, viable valorization strategies are required to efficiently use CO₂ and enable a circular economy. We aim to convert CO₂ into CO, methane, methanol, dimethyl ether, or E-fuels.

    Our activities in CO₂ utilization are related to (i) analyzing the stability of industrially relevant catalysts under realistic conditions and (ii) developing new catalytic materials based on Cu. In (i), we are developing reactors that augment the kinetic information: (a) in situ and operando spectroscopic reactors that work under (close to) working conditions to study structure-performance relationships, (b) periodic reactors with transient or variable conditions over time or space. In (ii), we work mainly with novel materials such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).

    We guide the design of these catalysts based on stability and using density functional theory (DFT) and microkinetic modeling.

    Another research line associated with CO₂ utilization is the electroreduction or CO2RR, explained on the EPB site.

      CO2

      Goals

      • Develop advanced structure-function-deactivation relationships of industrially relevant catalysts
      • Analyze the effect of “activity modifiers,” such as sulfur species, aromatics, chlorine, etc., on the catalyst structure and performance
      • Improve the catalyst structure-function correlations using in-situ, operando, and dynamic techniques and reactors
      • Synthesize new catalytic materials with enhanced stability and selectivity
      • Develop a microkinetic-based modeling framework to analyze the catalyst performance

      Related People

      Abdulrahman Mubarak Alsaiari
      Seba Alareeqi
      Vijay V. Kumar

      Related Publications

      Elucidating the promoting role of Ca on PdZn/CeO2 catalyst for CO2 valorization to methanol

      by Zaman, Ojelade, Alhumade, Mazumder, Mohamed, Castaño
      Fuel Year: 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2023.127927

      Abstract

      The viability of catalyzed CO2 conversion routes strongly depends on improving the catalytic performance and understanding of the process. Herein, we investigate the effect of Ca loading on PdZn/CeO2 catalysts prepared using the sol–gel chelatization method for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. A remarkable improvement in catalyst performance was revealed with the optimum amount of Ca (0.5 wt%) in synergetic cooperation with the PdZn alloy (main active phase for the CO2 hydrogenation to methanol reaction), compared to the Ca-free counterpart. The following key performance indicators are attained at 230 °C, 20 bar, and 2400 h−1 GHSV for the optimized catalyst: 16 % CO2 conversion, > 93 % methanol selectivity, and ∼ 124 g/kgcat/h methanol space–time yield. The overall catalytic performance observed is attributed to the optimum Ce3+/Ce4+ ratio, Ca2+promotion, surface area, pore volume, and basic sites, as revealed by various characterization techniques. Results shown here indicate that the presence of Ca in the vicinity of the PdZn active enhances basicity, creates oxygen vacancies, and phase may have improved the spill-over ability of H2, consequently favoring CO2activation and methanol formation.

      Keywords

      CO2 HCE