The process creates long-chain hydrocarbons suitable for diesel fuels 22/11/2016 Uses low-cost delafossite catalyst Helen Tunnicliffe Share this page CHEMICAL ENGINEERS at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) have developed a new, one-step process to turn CO2 directly into diesel. Jae Sung Lee, a professor of energy and chemical engineering at UNIST, led the research to develop the process, which uses a catalyst made from a mineral called delafossite. Existing processes to convert CO2 into hydrocarbons generally require more than one step, for example, a process developed by Audi has two stages, the first a reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction to convert CO2 into CO, followed by Fischer Tropsch synthesis. The process developed by Lee and his team creates long-chain hydrocarbons suitable for diesel fuels. Delafossite, CuFeO2, is low-cost and abundant. The researchers reduce the delafossite in a carburisation reaction (heating it with a carbon source) to produce Hägg iron carbide, the active form. The CO2 is reacted with H2, produced from a solar hydrogen plant, at a ratio of 1:3, at 300˚C with pressure at 10 bar, in the presence of the catalyst. The reaction produces around 65% hydrocarbons with at least a 5C chain length, which could be used directly as fuel. “We believe the new catalyst breaks through the limitation of CO2-based Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and will open the avenue for new opportunities for recycling CO2 into valuable fuels and chemicals,” said Lee. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental DOI: 10/btd9
Chemical engineers at the Korea National Institute of Science and Technology in Korea have developed a one - step process to turn CO2 directly into diesel , which usually takes at least two steps . The process uses a catalyst made from a polymer called delafossite ( CO ) , which is low - cost and abundant . The engineers believe that the new catalyst could open an avenue for recycling waste CO2 into valuable fuels and chemicals .