2017_10: Catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide into
methanol
Supervisors: Professor Milo Shaffer ([email protected]), Professor
Charlotte Williams (Chemistry, University of Oxford) and Dr David Payne (Materials)
Department: Chemistry
The project addresses the discovery, optimization and implementation of new liquid
phase catalysts for converting carbon dioxide into useful products, specifically
methanol and related species. The chemical reduction of CO2 is driven by the use of
H2, which can be generated by water electrolysis enabled by the increasing availability
of off-peak energy from renewable power generation. This strategy both reduces CO2
emissions and addresses load balancing concerns limiting wider implementation of
renewable electricity generation. The products can be used as a bulk chemical
feedstock or as a drop-in liquid fuels for transport. Prior work has demonstrated the
feasibility of this route to couple excess energy generation with liquid fuel synthesis,
both practically and in terms of process design. A major challenge in such symbiotic
catalysis is to design catalysts that are tolerant, highly active, selective and able to
respond rapidly to changes in H2 supply. Conventional methanol synthesis catalysts
cannot deliver against such demands and so a new process is needed. This project
will demonstrate new colloidal catalysts that can overcome these limitations, exploiting
their advantages in stability, flexibility, controllable composition, high surface area, and
simplified conditioning protocols.
The team has developed a generic new synthesis route to controlled Cu/Cu2O/ZnO
colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) and demonstrated their suitability as catalysts for liquid
phase methanol synthesis using CO2/H2 gas mixtures. The systems have a number
of important advantages, including greater compositional and structural flexibility, high
activity, simplified conditioning, and good stability. By combining these catalysts with
commercial acid/base catalysts, an efficient ‘one-pot’ route to DME has been
developed which lifts the equilibrium constraint on methanol synthesis. Additionally,
we have demonstrated the catalysis at the re
a route to higher overall conversions.
To exploit these benefits fully, the syntheses and reaction conditions must be tuned to
maximise the key interfaces (metal/metal oxide) and identify the most effective surface
ligands. The combination of synthesis with powerful characterisation techniques,
including XPS and advanced TEM, has been key to success to date, using inert
transfer and conditioning methods to image the realistic state of the catalysts. New
For more information on how to apply visit us at www.imperial.ac.uk/changingplanet
Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet
TEM methods have been developed to identify the key phases and interfaces within
the system. The project will support the catalyst development by assessing the most
active structures and compositions, and providing a rational basis to drive the
development of a practical catalyst system for the reduction of CO2 to commercially
valuable and exportable products. Methanol, DME and ethanol are particularly
promising target products, due to their versatility and large scale of their production
(methanol alone is >50 Mt/annum). As long as there is no global standard to reduce
carbon emissions, regulation threatens to increase carbon leakage, whereby
industries relocate to less regulated economies. The issue is especially accurate for
the Energy Intensive Industries, such as iron, steel, aluminium, and cement (which, in
the UK, account for >600,000 jobs and £49bn GVA). Creating an economically viable
route to CO2 usage will play a major role both in securing UK competitiveness and
reducing emissions worldwide.
For more information on how to apply visit us at www.imperial.ac.uk/changingplanet