CONVERSION OF CARBON DIOXIDE TO METHANOL AND/OR DIMETHYL ETHER USING BI-REFORMING OF METHANE OR NATURAL GAS - Patent application
In a previous dispatch, we made reference to a recent United States Patent application for recycling Carbon Dioxide, into Methanol and Dimethyl Ether, made by two University of Southern California scientists, Nobel Winner George Olah and, his colleague, Surya Prakash.
A review of our records revealed that we had, in fact, not yet transmitted information concerning that patent application, and we herein attempt correction of the oversight.
Revealed, through the enclosed link, above, and another following, and two excerpts, below, are details of the United States and International patent applications for technology to recycle Carbon Dioxide into the liquid fuel and gasoline raw material, Methanol, and, the diesel fuel substitute, Dimethyl Ether.
As follows, with some comment interspersed and appended:
"Patent Application Title: Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol and/or Dimethyl Ether Using ... Methane
Inventors: George A. Olah and Surya Prakash
Abstract: The invention discloses a method of converting carbon dioxide to methanol and/or dimethyl ether using any methane source or natural gas consisting of a combination of steam and dry reforming, in a specific ratio to produce a 2:1 molar ratio of hydrogen and carbon monoxide with subsequent conversion of the CO and H2 mixture exclusively to methanol and/or dimethyl ether. This method is termed the BI-REFORMING(R) process. Dehydrating formed methanol allows producing dimethyl ether (DME) using any suitable catalytic method, including use of solid acid catalysts. When recycling formed water into the bi-reforming step the conversion of carbon dioxide with methane produces exclusively dimethyl ether without any by-product formation and complete utilization of hydrogen.
Claims: A method of preparing methanol and/or dimethyl ether from carbon dioxide and a methane source which comprises:combining wet reforming and dry reforming of sufficient amounts of methane, carbon dioxide and water under reaction conditions sufficient to produce a 2:1 molar mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide; andconverting the 2:1 hydrogen and carbon monoxide mixture under conditions sufficient to form methanol.
Background: Methanol and DME as indicated provide a number of important advantages as transportation fuels. Contrary to hydrogen, methanol storage does not require any energy intensive procedures for pressurization or liquefaction. Because it is a liquid at room temperature, it can be easily handled, stored, distributed and carried in vehicles. It can act as an ideal hydrogen carrier for fuel cell vehicles through on-board methanol reformers or can be used directly in DMFC vehicles. DME although gaseous at room temperature can be easily stored under modest pressure and used effective in admixture with diesel fuels and CNG, or used in residential gas mixtures.
Methanol and/or DME also provide an attractive and more environmentally-friendly alternative to diesel fuel. They do not produce smoke, soot, or particulates when combusted, in contrast to diesel fuel, which generally produces polluting particles during combustion. They also produce very low emissions of NOx because they burn at a lower temperature than diesel. Furthermore, they have a significantly higher vapor pressure compared to diesel fuel, and the higher volatility allows easy start even in cold weather, without producing smoke typical of cold start with a conventional diesel engine. If desired, additives or ignition improvers, such as octyl nitrate, tetrahydrofurfuryl nitrate, peroxides or higher alkyl ethers, can be added to bring methanol's cetane rating to the level closer to diesel. Methanol is also used in the manufacture of biodiesel fuels by esterification of fatty acids.
In addition to use as fuels, methanol, DME and derived chemicals have also significant applications in the chemical industry. Today, methanol is one of the most important feedstock in the chemical industry. Most of the some 35 million tons of the annually produced methanol is used to manufacture a large variety of chemical products and materials, including basic chemicals."
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Olah and Prakesh, in the course of their lengthy disclosure, do take a swipe or two at Coal, and other fossil fuels; but, we forgive them. If they can get someone to make Methanol and DME out of Carbon Dioxide, we'll be content to provide them with the raw material.
In any case, the above US Patent Application is "partnered", for want of a better term, by what we believe to be the inventors' near-concurrent filing of an International Patent Application that discloses a, perhaps significantly, different technology for the recycling of Carbon Dioxide into Methanol.
The wording is different, and although we believe the technology disclosed to be somewhat related to that described in their US CO2 recycling Patent Application, there seem to be some quite significant differences in technology and approach, and genuinely qualified individuals should review the information so that they could explain it in layman's, or coal miner's, terms for the rest of us.
Although translation of international computer language symbols results in some loss of information, the essence of the following International Patent Application should be clear:
(WO/2009/012154) NO EN TITLE
"WO/2009/012154 --- PCT/US2008/069803
University of Southern California; George Olah and Surya Prakash
ELECTROLYSIS OF CARBON DIOXIDE IN AQUEOUS MEDIA TO CARBON MONOXIDE AND HYDROGEN FOR PRODUCTION OF METHANOL
Claims: A method of producing methanol by reductive conversion of any available source of carbon dioxide, which comprises electrochemically reducing the carbon dioxide in a divided electrochemical cell comprising an anode in one cell compartment and a metal cathode electrode in another cell compartment that also contains an aqueous solution or aqueous methanolic solution of an electrolyte of one or more alkyl ammonium halides, alkali carbonates or combinations thereof to produce therein a reaction mixture containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen which can be subsequently used to produce methanol while also producing oxygen in the cell at the anode."
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There you have it. Two methods, invented by a Nobel-certified genius, for the recycling of unwanted Carbon Dioxide into valuable Methanol, have been developed to enough extent that the University of Southern California has sufficient confidence to apply for patents on them.
The United States Patent Application seems to be for a "bi-reforming" process, wherein Methane is required for the conversion, the "bi-reformiing", of CO2 into Methanol and Dimethyl Ether. That said, don't lose sight of the fact that Methane can itself be synthesized from Carbon Dioxide, in a process invented by another Nobel Prize winner, Paul Sabatier; whose technology for converting Carbon Dioxide into Methane won him the Nobel, we believe without looking it up, all the way back in 1912.
And, Methane, as we have documented and will continue to document, can also be generated by processes of Coal hydro-gasification using steam.
The solutions to our liquid fuel shortages and our Carbon Dioxide "problem" are here, and there - there being wherever the WIPO, which issues international patents, hangs out it's shingle.
