Direct CO2-to-renewable methanol: Outlook, performance and optimization approach

Athanasios A. Tountas, Xinyue Peng, Yangfan Xu, Rui Song, Lu Wang, Christos T. Maravelias, Geoffrey A. Ozin, Mohini M. Sain

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Renewable methanol (MeOH) is targeted as a strategically important feedstock and fuel for the sustainable chemicals and industrial fuels sectors as well as a high-density storage and transport medium for the emerging hydrogen (H2) economy. This study elucidates how to approach the future of the renewable thermal direct‑carbon dioxide (CO2)-to-MeOH process supported by a technoeconomic analysis (TEA) to enable high MeOH yield and 3–14% more affordable productivity. We also carry out thermal performance evaluations of five recognizable catalyst materials that achieve up to 38–112% activity compared to the commercial-benchmark copper‑zinc oxide-alumina (CZA) catalyst at low temperature and 1/10th commercial pressure with the same screening reactor. We outline comparative thermal performance metrics and present an optimization strategy to identify the most promising candidates for further optimization.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere00630
JournalSustainable Materials and Technologies
Volume36
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • General Materials Science
  • Waste Management and Disposal
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Keywords

  • CO-to-methanol
  • CSTR
  • Hydrogen carrier
  • Renewable methanol
  • Technoeconomic analysis
  • Thermal performance evaluation

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