Abstract
With the increasing environmental problems caused by carbon dioxide (CO2) emission and the ultimate carbon resources needed for the development of human society, CO2 hydrogenation to methanol with H2 produced with renewable energy represents a promising path forward. Comprehensive analysis shows that the production of methanol by thermal catalytic CO2 hydrogenation is the most promising technology for large-scale industrialization. This review highlights current developments and future perspectives in the production of methanol from CO2, as well as the main existing problems based on a thorough techno-economic analysis. Moreover, the utilization status and future role of methanol as a platform molecule in the energy system is analyzed. Finally, in this review attention is paid to the development of new catalysts, new routes and new technologies for CO2 conversion aiming to clarify the future direction.
Highlights
INTRODUCTIONThe earth is losing energy to the space, so that the energy in and out of the earth system is basically the same (Figure 1A)
While absorbing solar radiation, the earth is losing energy to the space, so that the energy in and out of the earth system is basically the same (Figure 1A)
The integration of machine learning and high-throughput technology have been emerging to improve the development of new materials and performance of catalysts (Cole et al, 2017; Damith et al, 2018; Hartrampf et al, 2020)
Summary
The earth is losing energy to the space, so that the energy in and out of the earth system is basically the same (Figure 1A). The magnitude and rate of this increase, at least in the earth’s nearly 800,000 years of history, is unprecedented (Figure 1B). Researchers speculate that the increase of extremely severe cyclonic storms over the Arabian Sea caused by ocean warming may be the ringleader of this unprecedented locust disaster in 2020 (Murakami et al, 2017). Related researches pointed out that global warming is making some originally quiet volcanoes restless due to the increase of extremely heavy rainfall (Zhang et al, 2018; Farquharson and Amelung, 2020). Slow GDP growth and rising energy prices have not stopped the rise of energy consumption, and carbon emission exceeded ∼34,000 million tons both in 2018 and 2019, higher than the emission in recent years (Figure 2) (Dudley, 2019).
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