Nano-structured Catalysts for CO2 Transformation to Fuels and Products

This project will develop new nanometre-sized catalysts and (electro-) chemical processes for producing fuels, including methanol, methane, gasoline and diesel, and chemical products from waste carbon dioxide. It builds upon a successful first phase in which a new, highly controlled nanoparticle catalyst was developed and used to produce methanol from carbon dioxide; the reaction is a pertinent example of the production of a liquid fuel and chemical feedstock. In addition, we developed high temperature electrochemical reactions and reactors for the production of 'synthesis gas' (carbon monoxide and hydrogen) and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water. In this second phase of the project, we shall extend the production of fuels to include methanol, methane, gasoline and diesel, by integrating suitably complementary processes, using energy from renewable sources or off-peak electricity. The latter option is particularly attractive as a means to manage electricity loads as more renewables are integrated with the national power grid. In parallel, we will apply our new nanocatalysts to enable the copolymerization of carbon dioxide with epoxides to produce polycarbonate polyols, components of home insulation foams (polyurethanes). The approach is both commercially and environmentally attractive due to the replacement of 30-50% of the usual petrochemical carbon source (the epoxide) with carbon dioxide, and may be commercialised in the relatively near term. These copolymers are valuable products in their own right and provide a commercial-scale proving ground for the technology, before addressing integration into the larger scale challenges of fuel production and energy management.

The programme will continue to improve our catalyst performance and our understanding, to enable carbon dioxide transformations to a range of valuable products. The work will be coupled with a comprehensive process systems analysis in order to develop the most practical and valuable routes to implementation. Our goal is to continue to build on our existing promising results to advance the technology towards commercialisation; the research programme will focus on:
1) Catalyst optimization and scale-up so as to maximise the activities and selectivities for target products.
2) Development and optimization of the process conditions and engineering for the nanocatalysts, including testing and modelling new reactor designs.
3) Process integration and engineering to enable tandem catalyses and efficient generation of renewable fuels, including integration with renewable energy generation taking advantage of off-peak electrical power availability.
4) Detailed economic, energetic, environmental and life cycle analysis of the processes.

We will work closely with industrial partners to ensure that the technologies are practical and that key potential impediments to application are addressed. We have a team of seven companies which form our industrial advisory board, representing stakeholders from across the value chain, including: E.On, National Grid, Linde, Johnson Matthey, Simon Carves, Econic Technologies, and Shell.

There is intense interest in devising uses for carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by power generation, steel and cement production, etc. for economically and environmentally useful purposes, both to decrease emission rates and to offset costs of carbon capture systems by converting captured CO2 into useful products. The challenges are two-fold: how to develop catalysts that activate relatively inert CO2, and how to provide the necessary energy to drive such reactions. Our proposed programme will design and scale up novel yet realistic chemical conversion processes for the conversion of CO2 to useful fuels and chemicals. Specifically, within the current project, the fuels will include methanol, methane, , dimethyl ether (DME), diesel and gasoline, whilst the chemicals will focus on controlled molecular weight distribution polycarbonate polyols suitable for polyurethane manufacturing.
These two strands share many common technological aspects, but have different characteristics and timescales for implementation. Polycarbonates (3 Mtonnes/year) and polyols for polyurethanes (4 Mtonnes/year) are important and valuable industrial products, but their scale is, of course, dwarfed by fuel production and electrical energy generation. On the other hand, the incorporation of CO2 in such polymers is relatively easy to implement, as the CO2 displaces a significant fraction of the existing, expensive, petrochemical monomer, whilst the remaining monomer has sufficient reactivity to drive the reaction without further energy input. These polymer conversion processes will be enhanced by the project and will provide a test-bed for proving the catalyst technology and methods of integration with industrial CO2 waste streams (now feedstocks). The experience derived will help to develop the more complex processes for producing fuels that require energy inputs from off-peak electricity, a resource increasingly associated with renewable energy sources for which supply is hard to match to demand. The project includes detailed analysis of the techno-economic aspects of the many options to identify and optimise the most promising processes and operating conditions.
Successful implantation of CO2 conversion processes will be benefit a wide variety of UK and multi-national stakeholders, including chemical companies, catalyst and process equipment manufacturers, energy companies, consumer goods manufacturers and ultimately UK consumers, who will eventually reap both financial and environmental benefits. By providing an efficient economic use for spare generating capacity, renewable electricity generation will become increasingly favourable; at the same time, a new range of low carbon products will be produced to displace petrochemically-derived incumbents, reducing net green house gas emissions and improving energy security. These new product families will support exports, attract inward investment, and help to create jobs and revenue, as well as enhancing the UK's reputation in the field. The project will both contribute towards environmental sustainability, and enhance the capacity of UK industry in this growing field. As energy prices continue to rise, efficient use of petrochemicals and increased use of renewables will become increasingly important for economic competitiveness, as will a strong industrial base in enabling technologies.
The project bridges between chemistry and chemical engineering, bringing together new catalyst synthesis and in situ characterisation techniques with process design and integration; it will provide new scientific knowledge, new methodologies, and high skilled trained researchers who will drive future developments in this field in both academic and industrial contexts. Most of the commercial stakeholder groups are represented by our project partners, providing a ready source of data and advice to guide the research programme, and the relevant expertise to drive the next phase of development, deployment and exploitation.