Reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere can be achieved by capturing greenhouse gases. The big question is what to do with these gases and CO2 further? Carbon dioxide is proposed to be pumped into underground pockets, bound, and even converted into biofuel. Obviously, the latter method is the most preferable, since it allows the use of synthesized fuel instead of mining.
Image Source: DICP/HOU Shoufu
Reportedly sources, China has successfully built and tested a distillation plant that converts carbon dioxide into biofuel with the highest efficiency. The facility was designed by a group of Chinese scientists from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP). Scientists described the chemical reaction in the presence of metal catalysts in the journal Nature Communications back in 2017. Also, specialists from Zhuhai Futian Energy Technology took part in the creation of the installation, and the experiment was implemented at the suggestion of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF).
The demonstration facility was built in Zoucheng Industrial Park in 2020. In October 2021, the installation was launched and it worked 72 hours continuously. During the hydrogenation reaction, CO2 regarding 95% of the carbon dioxide was converted into liquid fuel with an octane rating of 90, which is in line with China’s national VI standard. The pilot plant is capable of producing 1000 tons of such fuel per year. The technical process, according to the source, is quite complicated, but it requires so little energy to maintain that this method has commercial prospects.
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