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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 cope with or solve the issue, viable valorization strategies are required for efficient usage of CO2, allowing for a circular economy. We aim to convert CO2 into CO, methane, methanol, dimethyl ether, or E-fuels.

Our activities in CO2 conversion 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.

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
CO2-2023

Related People

Gontzal Lezcano
Juan David Trueba
Pia Dally
Zainab Almoruhen

Related Publications

Dual experimental and computational approach to elucidate the effect of Ga on Cu/CeO2–ZrO2 catalyst for CO2 hydrogenation

by Yerrayya, Velisoju, Mohamed, Ramirez, Castaño
J. CO2 Util. Year: 2022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2022.102251

Abstract

Cu–Ga catalysts are potential candidates for activating the selective and stable hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to methanol and dimethyl ether. This work explores the structure–function relationship in specific Cu–Ga/CeO2–ZrO2 catalysts with different Ga loadings. Combining experiments with density functional theory calculations, we find the most well-balanced Cu–Ga interphase (structure) and promote specific mechanistic pathways of the reaction (function). The experiments yielded the highest selectivity of the desired products when the Cu and Ga amounts were equal. The experimental work and density functional theory calculations demonstrated that methanol is formed through the carboxyl pathway on the Cu catalyst, while Ga promotes the formate pathway. Consequently, the productivities of both methanol and dimethyl ether are enhanced. The experimental results match well with the theoretical calculations. Comparing our results with other Ga-promoting systems, we also prove that Cu achieves better balance than Ni and Co

Keywords

CO2 HCE MKM