Investigation of CO2 Utilization Processes on Metal-Containing Fillers with Generation of Hydrogen and Hydrocarbons

Abstract

Continuing consumption of fossil fuels around the world, which has led to an increasing concentration of carbon dioxide CO2 in the atmosphere and global climate change caused by greenhouse gases, has become one of the main challenges for humanity. Heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation of carbon dioxide in order to obtain valuable carbon-containing products and materials is one of the decarbonization directions. There is much research in the world dedicated to the hydrogenation of CO2 to various hydrocarbons, such as methane, lower olefins, long-chain hydrocarbons, formic acid, methanol and higher alcohols, which are produced by catalytic reactions with various mechanisms. There are still significant challenges associated with the need for an external source of hydrogen, high process temperatures, and the development of active, selective, and stable catalysts that would be suitable for large-scale production. This paper presents results of research on a CO2 utilization method with hydrogen and hydrocarbons production – the transformation of wastes into a source of energy, which allows solving environmental and energy problems. The method described in this paper consists in the interaction of metallic fillers with water saturated with carbon dioxide in a reactor at low (room) temperatures and further analysis of the resulting gas mixture using a chromatograph. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the produced gas composition, study of the effect of reaction system volume, filler composition and structure, and process temperature on the reaction product yield are presented. The results of theoretical and experimental analysis of the reactions underlying the process are given, and the economic potential of the proposed laboratory method is evaluated.