Coal ash zeolite as a self-catalytic-chemisorption system for conversion of carbon dioxide to hydrocarbons

At present, the developments of sustainable carbon capture technologies are of the main scientific and technological priority required to mitigate the over generation of greenhouse gases. Three CO2 clean energy production approaches have been outlined: pre-combustion capture, oxy-fuel combustion and post-combustion capture. Next challenge for low-carbon technologies is carbon dioxide recovery instead of its underground storage. A radical discovery for non-fossil fuel energy source is the Sabatier’s reaction for production of methane from carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The industrialization of the process becomes of interest after its integration with electrolysis to produce hydrogen. In our study, initial attempts on the obtaining of hydrocarbon from CO2 based on the catalytic activity of coal ash zeolites and their atmospheric moisture-retaining ability are provided. The experimental investigations on the CO2 chemisorptions were performed in a static reactor at pressure of 5.5 MPa over fly ash zeolite of Na-X type. The CO2 hydrocarbon conversion was established by IR-spectroscopic studies. This research poses a new research challenge in developing efficient methods for the conversion of CO2 into synthetic fuel. Acknowledgements: The financial support of Bulgarian National Science Fund (BNSF) under the project DN 17/18 (12.12.2017) is highly appreciated.