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 Ulsan 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, called direct methanol production, is based on an existing technology that uses carbon dioxide as fuel. The engineers believe that the new catalyst could open an avenue for recycling waste CO2 into valuable fuels and chemicals.