Scientists have developed the most affordable approach to date to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) and convert it into methanol.
The research team led by Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) chemist David Heldebrant has described the system as a form of recycling, where CO2 is captured and reconstituted into useful products.
The system, which can be incorporated into coal, gas and biomass-fired power plants, as well as cement kilns and steel plants, is a significant milestone in making carbon capture more widespread and affordable.
Methanol is a highly versatile chemical with a wide range of uses, including fuel, solvent, and as an ingredient in plastics, paint, construction materials and car parts. By converting CO2 into a valuable chemical like methanol, PNNL scientists believe that it will provide an incentive for industrial entities to capture and repurpose their carbon. This can help to lower the cost of commercial capture technology, which has long been a barrier to its widespread use.
The PNNL system snatches CO2 molecules before they are emitted and converts them into useful, sellable substances. This technology will not only reduce emissions, but it could also help to spur the development of other carbon capture technology and establish a market for CO2-containing materials. This, in turn, could help to better reconstitute carbon seized by other technologies into longer-lived materials.
In April 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its Working Group III report, which focused on mitigating climate change. Among the emissions-limiting measures outlined, carbon capture and storage was named as a necessary element in achieving net zero emissions, especially in sectors that are difficult to decarbonize, like steel and chemical production. PNNL’s research aligns with the Department of Energy’s Carbon Negative Shot, which aims to produce methanol with a lower carbon footprint.