Sie sind auf Seite 1von 2

1/29/2016

(35)ChemicalEngineering

Carbondioxidecapturedfromaircanbedirectlyconvertedintomethanolfuel
Forthefirsttime,researchershavedemonstratedthatCO2capturedfromtheaircanbedirectly
convertedintomethanol(CH3OH)usingahomogenouscatalyst.Thebenefitsaretwofold:The
processremovesharmfulCO2fromtheatmosphere,andthemethanolcanbeusedasan
alternativefueltogasoline.Theworkrepresentsanimportantstepthatcouldonedayleadtoa
future"methanoleconomy,"inwhichfuelandenergystorageareprimarilybasedonmethanol.
ThestudywasledbyG.K.SuryaPrakash,achemistryprofessorattheUniversityofSouthern
California,alongwiththeNobellaureateGeorgeA.Olah,adistinguishedprofessorattheUniversity
ofSouthernCalifornia.TheresearchershavepublishedtheirpaperontheCO2tomethanol
conversionprocessinarecentissueoftheJournaloftheAmericanChemicalSociety.
"DirectCO2captureandconversiontomethanolusingmolecularhydrogeninthesamepotwas
neverachievedbefore.Wehavenowdoneit!"Prakashsaid.
Overthepastseveralyears,chemistshavebeeninvestigatingvariouswaysofrecyclingCO2into
usefulproducts.Forexample,treatingCO2withhydrogengas(H2)canproducemethanol,
methane(CH4),orformicacid(HCOOH).Amongtheseproducts,methanolisespeciallyattractive
becauseofitsuseasanalternativefuel,infuelcells,andforhydrogenstorage.
Thechemicalindustrycurrentlyproducesmorethan70milliontonsofmethanolannuallybecause
thesimplecompoundalsoservesasabuildingblockformanylargercompounds,includingtwoof
themosthighlyproducedorganiccompounds,ethyleneandpropylene,whichareusedtomake
plasticsandotherproducts.
AkeyfactorintheCO2tomethanolconversionprocessisfindingagoodhomogeneouscatalyst,
whichisessentialforspeedingupthechemicalreactionssothatmethanolcanbeproducedata
fastrate.Theproblemisthatthesereactionsrequirehightemperatures(around150C),and
unfortunatelytheheatoftencausesthecatalyststodecompose.
Inthenewstudy,theresearchersdevelopedastablecatalystbasedonthemetalrutheniumthat
doesnotdecomposeathightemperatures.Thecatalyst'sgoodstabilityallowsittobereusedover
andoveragainforthecontinuousproductionofmethanol.
"DevelopingstablehomogeneouscatalystsforCO2reductiontomethanolwasachallenge,"
Prakashsaid."Majorityofthecatalystsstoppedattheformicacidstage.Furthermore,weneededa
catalystthatcouldreducecarbamatesoralkylammoniumbicarbonatesdirectlytomethanol.We
haveachievedbothwithourcatalyst."
Withthenewcatalyst,alongwithafewadditionalcompounds,theresearchersdemonstratedthat
upto79%oftheCO2capturedfromtheaircanbeconvertedintomethanol.Initiallythemethanolis
mixedwithwater,butitcanbeeasilyseparatedoutbydistillation.
Lookingattheworkfromabroaderperspective,theresearchershopethatitmayoneday
contributetoamethanoleconomy.Thisplaninvolvesdevelopingan"anthropogeniccarboncycle"
inwhichcarbonisrecycledtosupplementthenaturalcarboncycle.Innature,carbonis
continuouslybeingexchanged,recycled,andreusedamongtheatmosphere,oceans,andliving
organisms,butnaturecannotrecyclethecarbonfromfossilfuelsasquicklyashumanscanburn
them.HumanscouldcounteractsomeoftheCO2wereleasebyconvertingsomeofthecarbon
backintoanenergysourcesuchasmethanol.
MoreinformationontheanthropogeniccarboncyclecanbefoundinthisPerspectivepiecebyOlah,
Prakash,andAlainGoeppert.
Asanextstep,theresearchersplantolowerthecatalystoperatingtemperatureandimproveits
efficiency.
"Wewillcontinuethestudiestodevelopmorerobustcatalyststhatworkaround100to120C,"
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChemicalEngineeringway/permalink/10153250345287791/

1/2

1/29/2016

(35)ChemicalEngineering

Prakashsaid."Wewouldliketoperformthechemistryinapreparativelyusefulway,whereinthere
arenosolventorreagentlosses."
Researchpaper:http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jacs.5b12354
Image:Usinganewcatalyst,researchershavedemonstratedthatupto79%ofthecarbondioxide
capturedfromtheaircanbeconvertedintomethanol.Credit:GregoryHeath,CSIRO

Like

Comment

Share

83peoplelikethis.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChemicalEngineeringway/permalink/10153250345287791/

2/2

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen