Carbon dioxide hydrogenation to value-added products using Cu-based catalytic materials

Abstract

In this work, we report on the synthesis and evaluation of catalytic materials composed of copper/calcium oxide/alumina (Cu/CaO/Al2O3) for carbon dioxide conversion to value-added products. Catalytic materials were synthesized using sequential incipient wetness impregnation method. Synthesized materials with different compositions of copper and adsorbent were tested in a high-pressure packed bed reactor under a pressure P =60 bars, temperature T=300 °C, and hydrogen to carbon dioxide ratio (H2/CO2 = 3) to determine their performances and catalytic activities. The results of the activity revealed that CaO-based catalysts were very active in converting CO2 to methanol and carbon monoxide. Catalyst containing 30%Cu10%CaO achieved the highest CO2 conversion of 16.5% and a maximum methanol selectivity of 17.8%, while the lowest selectivity towards carbon monoxide (CO) were obtained using 20%Cu-containing catalyst. Reducing CaO content from 10wt% to 5wt% boosted the CO2 conversion to 18% with higher selectivity towards CO compared to the catalyst containing 10%CaO.