energies-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Catalytic Processes for CO2 Utilization

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "B3: Carbon Emission and Utilization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 December 2021) | Viewed by 13628

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chair of Process Technology and Industrial Environmental Protection, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, 8700 Leoben, Austria
Interests: industrial gas cleaning processes; integration and chemical storage of renewable energy; recycling processes for industrial wastes; carbon capture and utilization

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Chair of Energy Process Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Fürther Straße 244f, D-90429 Nürnberg, Germany
Interests: energy; energy storage; carbon capture and sequestration; energetic exploitation of biomass; combustion and gasification in a fluidized bed; methanation and solid-oxide fuel cells

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Engler-Bunte-Institute, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Engler-Bunte-Ring 1, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Interests: renewable energy; catalyst; chemical engineering; energy conversion; thermal engineering; adsorption

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The paradigm shift towards zero waste and zero emission technologies in a circular economy boosts a steadily growing interest in carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies. “Green” CO2 will play a key role in energy supply for industry as well as the decarbonization of industrial production. The catalytic conversion of CO2 to valuable products enables the substitution of fossil feedstock and the production of a great variety of chemical and petrochemical intermediates and products. However, the utilization of CO2 as feedstock is energy intensive, and thus substantial progress is necessary for the implementation of CCU process chains in industrial production. This Special Issue will focus on, but is not limited to, the following topics:

  • CO2 as feedstock for the chemical and petrochemical industries;
  • CO2 as feedstock for synthetic fuels and Power-to-X;
  • progress in the direct catalytic hydrogenation of CO2;
  • bio-catalytic, electrochemical, and hybrid conversion processes for CO2;
  • reforming processes for the utilization of CO2;
  • intensification of catalytic processes for CO2 utilization;
  • the role of CO2 in chemical storage of renewable energy;
  • CO2 sources: potential, future developments, and conditions for utilization;
  • carbon capture as part of CCU process chains;
  • integration of CCU in existing industrial production;
  • the future role of CCU for the decarbonization of industry; and
  • the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) mitigation potential of CCU process chains.

Prof. Dr. Markus Lehner
Guest Editor

Prof. Dr. Juergen Karl
Prof. Dr. Reinhard Rauch
Co-Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • hydrogenation of CO2
  • carbon capture and utilization
  • reforming processes
  • chemical storage of renewable energy
  • GHG mitigation potential
  • Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
  • power-to-x processes
  • substitutes for natural gas
  • methanation

Published Papers (5 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

22 pages, 9244 KiB  
Article
In Situ Catalytic Methanation of Real Steelworks Gases
by Philipp Wolf-Zoellner, Ana Roza Medved, Markus Lehner, Nina Kieberger and Katharina Rechberger
Energies 2021, 14(23), 8131; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14238131 - 03 Dec 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1810
Abstract
The by-product gases from the blast furnace and converter of an integrated steelworks highly contribute to today’s global CO2 emissions. Therefore, the steel industry is working on solutions to utilise these gases as a carbon source for product synthesis in order to [...] Read more.
The by-product gases from the blast furnace and converter of an integrated steelworks highly contribute to today’s global CO2 emissions. Therefore, the steel industry is working on solutions to utilise these gases as a carbon source for product synthesis in order to reduce the amount of CO2 that is released into the environment. One possibility is the conversion of CO2 and CO to synthetic natural gas through methanation. This process is currently extensively researched, as the synthetic natural gas can be directly utilised in the integrated steelworks again, substituting for natural gas. This work addresses the in situ methanation of real steelworks gases in a lab-scaled, three-stage reactor setup, whereby the by-product gases are directly bottled at an integrated steel plant during normal operation, and are not further treated, i.e., by a CO2 separation step. Therefore, high shares of nitrogen are present in the feed gas for the methanation. Furthermore, due to the catalyst poisons present in the only pre-cleaned steelworks gases, an additional gas-cleaning step based on CuO-coated activated carbon is implemented to prevent an instant catalyst deactivation. Results show that, with the filter included, the steady state methanation of real blast furnace and converter gases can be performed without any noticeable deactivation in the catalyst performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Processes for CO2 Utilization)
Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 2266 KiB  
Article
Combination of b-Fuels and e-Fuels—A Technological Feasibility Study
by Katrin Salbrechter and Teresa Schubert
Energies 2021, 14(17), 5250; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14175250 - 25 Aug 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2231
Abstract
The energy supply in Austria is significantly based on fossil natural gas. Due to the necessary decarbonization of the heat and energy sector, a switch to a green substitute is necessary to limit CO2 emissions. Especially innovative concepts such as power-to-gas establish [...] Read more.
The energy supply in Austria is significantly based on fossil natural gas. Due to the necessary decarbonization of the heat and energy sector, a switch to a green substitute is necessary to limit CO2 emissions. Especially innovative concepts such as power-to-gas establish the connection between the storage of volatile renewable energy and its conversion into green gases. In this paper, different methanation strategies are applied on syngas from biomass gasification. The investigated syngas compositions range from traditional steam gasification, sorption-enhanced reforming to the innovative CO2 gasification. As the producer gases show different compositions regarding the H2/COx ratio, three possible methanation strategies (direct, sub-stoichiometric and over-stoichiometric methanation) are defined and assessed with technological evaluation tools for possible future large-scale set-ups consisting of a gasification, an electrolysis and a methanation unit. Due to its relative high share of hydrogen and the high technical maturity of this gasification mode, syngas from steam gasification represents the most promising gas composition for downstream methanation. Sub-stoichiometric operation of this syngas with limited H2 dosage represents an attractive methanation strategy since the hydrogen utilization is optimized. The overall efficiency of the sub-stoichiometric methanation lies at 59.9%. Determined by laboratory methanation experiments, a share of nearly 17 mol.% of CO2 needs to be separated to make injection into the natural gas grid possible. A technical feasible alternative, avoiding possible carbon formation in the methanation reactor, is the direct methanation of sorption-enhanced reforming syngas, with an overall process efficiency in large-scale applications of 55.9%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Processes for CO2 Utilization)
Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 9564 KiB  
Article
Catalytic Hydrogenation of CO2 to Methanol over Cu/MgO Catalysts in a Semi-Continuous Reactor
by Sascha Kleiber, Moritz Pallua, Matthäus Siebenhofer and Susanne Lux
Energies 2021, 14(14), 4319; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14144319 - 17 Jul 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2650
Abstract
Methanol synthesis from carbon dioxide (CO2) may contribute to carbon capture and utilization, energy fluctuation control and the availability of CO2-neutral fuels. However, methanol synthesis is challenging due to the stringent thermodynamics. Several catalysts mainly based on the carrier [...] Read more.
Methanol synthesis from carbon dioxide (CO2) may contribute to carbon capture and utilization, energy fluctuation control and the availability of CO2-neutral fuels. However, methanol synthesis is challenging due to the stringent thermodynamics. Several catalysts mainly based on the carrier material Al2O3 have been investigated. Few results on MgO as carrier material have been published. The focus of this study is the carrier material MgO. The caustic properties of MgO depend on the caustification/sintering temperature. This paper presents the first results of the activity of a Cu/MgO catalyst for the low calcining temperature of 823 K. For the chosen calcining conditions, MgO is highly active with respect to its CO2 adsorption capacity. The Cu/MgO catalyst showed good catalytic activity in CO2 hydrogenation with a high selectivity for methanol. In repeated cycles of reactant consumption and product condensation followed by reactant re-dosing, an overall relative conversion of CO2 of 76% and an overall selectivity for methanol of 59% was obtained. The maximum selectivity for methanol in a single cycle was 88%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Processes for CO2 Utilization)
Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 2368 KiB  
Article
Catalytic Hydroisomerisation of Fischer–Tropsch Waxes to Lubricating Oil and Investigation of the Correlation between Its Physical Properties and the Chemical Composition of the Corresponding Fuel Fractions
by Philipp Neuner, David Graf, Heiko Mild and Reinhard Rauch
Energies 2021, 14(14), 4202; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14144202 - 12 Jul 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2663
Abstract
Due to environmental concerns, the role of renewable sources for petroleum-based products has become an invaluable research topic. One possibility of achieving this goal is the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) based on sustainable raw materials. Those materials include, but are not limited to, synthesis [...] Read more.
Due to environmental concerns, the role of renewable sources for petroleum-based products has become an invaluable research topic. One possibility of achieving this goal is the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) based on sustainable raw materials. Those materials include, but are not limited to, synthesis gas from biomass gasification or hydrogen through electrolysis powered by renewable electricity. In recent years, the utilisation of CO2 as carbon source for FTS was one main R&D topic. This is one of the reasons for its increase in value and the removal of its label as being just exhaust gas. With the heavy product fraction of FTS, referred to as Fischer–Tropsch waxes (FTW), being rather limited in their application, catalytic upgrading can help to increase the economic viability of such a process by converting the waxes to high value transportation fuels and lubricating oils. In this paper, the dewaxing of FTW via hydroisomerisation and hydrocracking was investigated. A three phase fixed bed reactor was used in combination with a zeolitic catalyst with an AEL (SAPO-11) structure and 0.3 wt% platinum (Pt). The desired products were high quality white oils with low cloud points. These products were successfully produced in a one-step catalytic dewaxing process. Within this work, a direct correlation between the physical properties of the white oils and the chemical composition of the simultaneously produced fuel fractions could be established. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Processes for CO2 Utilization)
Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 5076 KiB  
Article
Integration of Renewable Hydrogen Production in Steelworks Off-Gases for the Synthesis of Methanol and Methane
by Michael Bampaou, Kyriakos Panopoulos, Panos Seferlis, Spyridon Voutetakis, Ismael Matino, Alice Petrucciani, Antonella Zaccara, Valentina Colla, Stefano Dettori, Teresa Annunziata Branca and Vincenzo Iannino
Energies 2021, 14(10), 2904; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14102904 - 18 May 2021
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3073
Abstract
The steel industry is among the highest carbon-emitting industrial sectors. Since the steel production process is already exhaustively optimized, alternative routes are sought in order to increase carbon efficiency and reduce these emissions. During steel production, three main carbon-containing off-gases are generated: blast [...] Read more.
The steel industry is among the highest carbon-emitting industrial sectors. Since the steel production process is already exhaustively optimized, alternative routes are sought in order to increase carbon efficiency and reduce these emissions. During steel production, three main carbon-containing off-gases are generated: blast furnace gas, coke oven gas and basic oxygen furnace gas. In the present work, the addition of renewable hydrogen by electrolysis to those steelworks off-gases is studied for the production of methane and methanol. Different case scenarios are investigated using AspenPlusTM flowsheet simulations, which differ on the end-product, the feedstock flowrates and on the production of power. Each case study is evaluated in terms of hydrogen and electrolysis requirements, carbon conversion, hydrogen consumption, and product yields. The findings of this study showed that the electrolysis requirements surpass the energy content of the steelwork’s feedstock. However, for the methanol synthesis cases, substantial improvements can be achieved if recycling a significant amount of the residual hydrogen. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Processes for CO2 Utilization)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop