Following the structure of copper-zinc-alumina across the pressure gap in carbon dioxide hydrogenation
Arik Beck, Maxim Zabilskiy, Mark A. Newton, Olga Safonova, Marc G. Willinger & Jeroen A. van Bokhoven
Nature Catalysis volume 4, pages 488–497 (2021)Cite this article
Abstract
Copper-zinc-alumina catalysts are used industrially for methanol synthesis from feedstock containing carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The high performance of the catalyst stems from synergies that develop between its components. This important catalytic system has been investigated with a myriad of approaches, however, no comprehensive agreement on the fundamental source of its high activity has been reached. One potential source of disagreement is the considerable variation in pressure used in studies to understand a process that is performed industrially at pressures above 20 bar. Here, by systematically studying the catalyst state during temperature-programmed reduction and under carbon dioxide hydrogenation with in situ and operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy over four orders of magnitude in pressure, we show how the state and evolution of the catalyst is defined by its environment. The structure of the catalyst shows a strong pressure dependence, especially below 1 bar. As pressure gaps are a general problem in catalysis, these observations have wide-ranging ramifications.
World's first 100,000-ton green methanol plant put into operation
March 1, 2023, Henan, China, On February 21, the world's first 100,000-ton green methanol plant jointly invested by Geely Holding Group and Henan Shuncheng Group was officially put into operation in Anyang. This is China's first and the world's largest carbon dioxide hydrogenation green methanol plant , which ignited a new lighthouse for China's energy diversification strategy. During the ceremony, a framework agreement for the second phase of green methanol production in Anyang and the establishment of a new energy commercial vehicle operating company and a decision-making simulation platform project for the whole value chain of coal coke was also signed. Geely's Alcohol Hydrogen Technology signed an order for 300 methanol heavy trucks with Shuncheng Group and the first batch of 30 units was delivered to help zero-carbon land transportation.
With alcohol-hydrogen power as the center, a complete industrial chain such as methanol vehicles, parts, raw material methanol, transportation, deployment, and terminal filling can be built, and a large-scale methanol economic ecological chain can be formed. The promotion and application of methanol vehicles will generate huge economic benefits and social benefits.
Geely deployed Farizon new energy commercial vehicles in 2014, and alcohol-hydrogen power is one of the two core technology routes. At present, Farizon methanol heavy trucks have been promoted in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Gansu, Guizhou, Hainan, Henan and other places, and have achieved large-scale operation. The economy, applicability and reliability of the products have been fully verified. The technology maturity and launch scale are at the international leading level. Compared with traditional diesel heavy trucks, the fuel cost of Farizon methanol heavy trucks is reduced by 18%-32%, saving up to 1 yuan per kilometer, which greatly reduces logistics costs.
In 2022, Farizon methanol heavy trucks started testing and demonstration operations in Aalborg, Denmark. This was the first methanol vehicle in Denmark, and it also indicates that methanol will play an important role in promoting carbon neutrality in global transportation.
In recent years, Geely has accelerated the layout of the full value chain of methanol, built alcohol-hydrogen technology business with alcohol-hydrogen power as the core, and built a complete green methanol transport capacity ecology of alcohol, transportation, stations, and vehicles to help efficient zero-carbon land transportation.
Source : www.chinaspv.com
World's largest CO2-to-methanol plant starts production
The world’s first commercial scale CO2-to-methanol plant has started production in Anyang, Henan Province, China. The cutting-edge facility is the first of its type in the world to produce methanol — a valuable fuel and chemical feedstock — at this scale from captured waste carbon dioxide and hydrogen gases.
The plant's production process is based on the Emissions-to-Liquids (ETL) technology developed by Carbon Recycling International (CRI) and first demonstrated in Iceland. The new facility can capture 160,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year, which is equivalent to taking more than 60,000 cars off the road. The captured carbon dioxide is then reacted with the recovered hydrogen in CRI’s proprietary ETL reactor system with the capacity to produce 110,000 tons of methanol per year.
The successful start-up marks the end of a two-year project and months-long commissioning phase. Following sign-off by the CRI’s technical service team, the plant operations are now in the hands of Shunli, the project company (majority-owned by the Henan Shuncheng Group).
This flagship plant represents the achievement of an important milestone in the ongoing development of carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology as well as the progression in industry towards a circular carbon economy.
At the heart of the process is CRI’s bespoke reactor that uses specialized catalysts to convert the carbon and hydrogen feed gases into low carbon-intensity methanol. The entire unit weighs around 84 tons or the weight of a fully-loaded Boeing 737. The reactor is mounted in a dedicated steel frame and connected to a specialized gas compressor and a distillation column that is just under 70-meters-tall.
The ETL process uses emissions that would have otherwise been released into the atmosphere, producing liquid methanol — from carbon dioxide that is recovered from existing lime production emissions and hydrogen that is recovered from coke-oven gas. Methanol production and use has grown rapidly in China in recent years and this new production method offers an alternative to the traditional coal-based methanol currently manufactured in China, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality.
Björk Kristjánsdóttir, CEO of CRI, emphasizes the importance of the plant’s start-up, “We are proud to have successfully realized this important project and to bring our environmentally friendly, ETL technology into the global market. We take great pleasure in being able to offer our proven technical solution to produce a valuable product directly from waste streams. This can support large scale reduction of CO2 emissions and help facilitate the energy transition. With increased demand for such solutions, we look forward to continuing to make meaningful impact by deploying the technology with our current and future partners.”
CRI’s second project in China was announced last year and is already well on its way. It is expected to come online in the second half of 2023.