Heterogeneous catalysts, reaction kinetics, and reactor designs for methanol production from carbon dioxide: A critical review

Abstract

The process of preparing methanol from carbon dioxide is one of the ways to solve the environmental problems caused by greenhouse gases, the problem of fossil energy depletion, and the problem of fuel exhaust emissions. However, after decades of development, the process of preparing methanol from carbon dioxide is still unable to achieve large‐scale industrialization. This critical review sharply points out the problems and obstacles that need to be solved urgently on the industrialization road of carbon dioxide methanol preparation process and summarizes its progress. The problems faced by the methanol production industry from carbon dioxide are first the thermodynamic constraints, second the lower reaction rate and conversion effect, and finally the energy loss. In order to solve these problems, this paper first introduces the active sites, structural effects, and dynamic changes of copper‐based catalysts, as well as the unique reaction mechanism and doping modification of indium‐based catalysts. Zinc and zirconium promoters and some metal oxide supports can form unique interactions with active components to improve the catalytic performance of the catalyst. Next, various kinetic models and applications of methanol production from carbon dioxide are summarized, which is an important bridge linking laboratory and industrialization; the advantages and disadvantages of fixed bed reactor and paddle reactor were compared. Finally, the full text is summarized and prospected.

Hydrogenation of CO2 to CH3OH on the Cu–ZnO–SrTiO3 Catalysts: The Electronic Metal–Support Interaction Induces Oxygen Vacancy Generation

“…Current research on the catalysts for CO 2 hydrogenation to methanol mainly focuses on Cu-based catalysts. 4 However, for Cu-based catalysts, the active sites are still controversial. On the one hand, the contact points between Cu and metal oxides were suggested to be the active sites for CO 2 hydrogenation by using a mathematical model for Cu and ZnO contact quantification 5 and experimental studies for Cu@ZnO x core−shell catalyst.…”