As via the enclosed link, attached document and excerpt, collaborating scientists in China and Switzerland report they have developed the technology to convert Carbon Dioxide, from flue gas, into a variety of profitable chemicals and liquid fuels.
Their overuse of technical terms can be confusing, although they do explain some of them in the body of the text. They speak of reacting CO2 with methane, in perhaps the same fashion as proposed by Penn State University, to synthesize "oxygenates", a class of organic chemicals that includes, as they note, Methanol.
Once Methanol is obtained, many other valuable organic compounds, including gasoline, as in the "MTG"(r) technology which is being, it seems, according to other reports we've cited for you, reduced to practice in China by ExxonMobil.
Don't be misled by the word "plasma". It does not necessarily mean very high temperature, and the need for high energy, and thus high cost, input.
Following is the excerpt, with brief comment inserted and one comment following, added to call your attention to a, we think, significant point:
"CONVERTING OF CARBON DIOXIDE INTO MORE VALUABLE CHEMICALS USING CATALYTIC PLASMAS
Chang-jun Liu, Qmg Xia, Yue-ping Zhang, Yang Li, Ji-jun Zou and Gen-hui Xu StateKey Laboratory of C1 Chemical Technology, Tianjin University; Tianjin 300072, P.R. China
Baldur Eliasson and Bingzhang Xue Energy & Global Change, ABB Corporate Research Ltd.; Baden, CH5405,Switzerland
ABSTRACT
Experiment has confirmed that the CO2 plasmas can generate a plentiful of active oxygen species and other active plasma species for further reaction with other reactants, like methane, low alkanes and others. These reactions leads to a formation of more valuable chemicals, like ethylene, propylene and oxygenates. The characteristics of CO2 plasma reactions have been addressed therefore in this paper. To be our surprised, the experiment has shown that the CO2 plasma is an excellent “catalyst” for the conversion of low alkanes to alkenes (esp., ethylene and propylene). To the knowledge of authors, this is the first report of this kind of experiments that could lead to a novel method for the utilization of CO2 and low alkanes. The present yield of alkenes achieved has been competitive to that in the conventional catalytic dehydrogenation of low alkanes.
INTRODUCTION
Any success in research and development of a feasible utilization of carbon dioxide will signify the attainment of objectives of slowing down a build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and better carbon resource utilization. Due to the difficulty in the utilization of carbon dioxide via the conventional catalysis, plasma approaches for the CO2 utilization have been paid more and more attentions. Within these plasma C02 utilization, an indirect utilization (via syngas) and a direct utilization have been investigated. The plasma CO2 utilization is being demonstrated to be an efficient method. In addition, the plasma flue gas treatment has become an industrialized operation. If more valuable chemicals can be directly produced from such plasma CO2 utilization, the CO2 emission control will become compensable. In this presentation, the recent progresses in converting of C02 into more valuable chemicals using dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD) plasmas has been reported. It has been found that CO2 is a very good reactant within gas discharge plasmas for organic synthesis.
(As in: "CO2 emission control will become compensable", by recycling the stuff, we can actually get paid for reducing CO2 emissions.)
EXPERIMENTAL
The DBD is one of non-thermal plasma phenomena, which has been considered very promising for organic chemical reactions because of its non-equilibrium properties, low input power requirement and its capacity to induce physical and chemical reactions within gases at relatively low gas temperature, ... The feed gas flow is subjected to the action of the DBD in an annular gap formed between an outer stainless steel tube maintained at constant temperature and an inner quartz tube. ... This reactor system is very similar to the DBD reactor for methane conversion described elsewhere. All the experiments were conducted at atmospheric pressure.
(Again, we think they are describing a low-energy, low-cost process, dielectric barrier discharge, because of it's "low input power requirement and its capacity to induce physical and chemical reactions within gases at relatively low gas temperature ... conducted at atmospheric pressure." .)
We have previously reported a direct liquid fuel synthesis from methane and carbon dioxide via DBDs. During this liquid fuel synthesis, the formation of ethylene and propylene, that is very important chemicals, have been observed.
(Note: "direct liquid fuel synthesis from methane and carbon dioxide", and always keep in mind that, if needed, Methane can itself be synthesized from CO2, via Sabatier reactions, or from Coal, via almost ancient gasification techniques, all as has been thoroughly documented by the WV Coal Assoc.)
The highest selectivity of ethylene and propylene presents under the feed of pure methane. However, the methane conversion with the pure methane feed is low. The addition of carbon dioxide significantly increases the methane conversion but reduces the selectivity of alkenes. A mixture of oxygenates including methanol, DME, formaldehyde and so on has thereby been produced. The higher CO2 amount in the feed will induce a larger selectivity of oxygenates. Further investigations are being conducted to improve the selectivity of desired oxygenate, e.g. methanol. To get a higher selectivity of alkenes, a lower CO2 feed amount is suggested. In addition, the use of zeolite within the DBDs and changes in other plasma reaction condition can increase the selectivity of alkenes. We will report it in the near future.
(Again, "the use of zeolite" catalysis, as in ExxonMobil's "MTG"(r), methanol-to-gasoline, is identified as being of special utility.)
It can be considered that the CO2 plasma could be a good catalyst for the conversion of alkanes. A high conversion has been achieved. ... The high selectivity of alkenes (as high as 80%) can be competitive to the conventional catalytic conversion of low alkanes. ... this is a significant improvement in the organic synthesis via non-thermal plasmas and could lead to a practical application of plasma synthesis of more valuable chemicals from low alkanes and carbon dioxide.
The potential of the utilization of C02 plasma has been demonstrated in this investigation. Due to the low price of present oil market, the synthesis of liquid from methane and carbon dioxide would not be a good option. The production of more valuable chemicals, like ethylene and propylene, is a better choice for the utilization of carbon dioxide, together with the utilization of low alkanes, especially methane, ethane and propane. It can be considered this as an important innovative alternative technology to produce ethylene and propylene.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
supports from Ministry of Education of China, the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education in China and ABB Corporate Research Ltd., Switzerland are very appreciated. Discussion with Dr.Richard Mallinson and Dr. Lance Lobban at the University of Oklahoma, USA and Prof. Albin Czemichowski at University of Orleans, France is also very appreciated."
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Note that help from "the University of Oklahoma, USA ... is also very appreciated." Shouldn't someone from US Coal Country be talking to them to see if they can give us some help that we would also appreciate?
Finally, yet again, it has been demonstrated that Carbon Dioxide is a raw material resource of potentially great value. We can make liquid fuels and plastics with it, and we shouldn't allow our vital and productive coal and coal-use industries to be economically shackled, through Cap & Trade taxation, or economically enslaved to the petroleum industry, through mandated, and ultimately ineffective, geologic Sequestration.
