Chemical engineering role in the use of renewable energy and alternative carbon sources in chemical production

Gabriele Centi,Gaetano Iaquaniello,Siglinda Perathoner

doi:10.1186/s42480-019-0006-8

Abstract

There is a demand for new chemical reaction technologies and associated engineering aspects due to on-going transition in energy and chemistry associated to moving out progressively from the use of fossil fuels. Focus is given in this review on two main aspects: i) the development of alternative carbon sources and ii) the integration of renewable energy in the chemical production. It is shown how addressing properly these aspects requires to develop also a) new tools for chemical engineering assessment and b) innovative methodologies for the development of the materials, reactors and processes. This review evidences the need to accelerate studies on these directions, being a crucial element to catalyze the transition to a more sustainable use of energy and chemistry. It is remarked, however, the need to go beyond the traditional approaches, with some examples given. In fact, the presence of radical changes in the way of production is underlined, requiring thus novel fundamentals and applied engineering approaches.

Highlights

There are increasing evidences of an irreversible and fast-proceeding transition in energy and chemical technologies [1–3], characterized from the progressive substitution of fossil fuels and the introduction of renewable energy sources (RES) and alternative carbon feeds [4–8]
There are clear complex economic aspects determining the transition to novel energy and chemical production systems, and technological facets
We have shown that by changing the effective surface concentration of CO2 at the electrocatalyst surface, the nature of the products may be considerably influenced

Summary

Introduction

There are increasing evidences of an irreversible and fast-proceeding transition in energy and chemical technologies [1–3], characterized from the progressive substitution of fossil fuels and the introduction of renewable energy sources (RES) and alternative carbon feeds [4–8]. CO2/H2 process is instead using a waste raw material (CO2), with very low cost (some even negative considering carbon taxes) and another product (H2) which could be manufactured using renewable energy sources, which are currently already competitive (in some cases) to the use of fossil fuels [4].

Results

Conclusion