United States Patent Application: 0070149392
The information we enclose in this dispatch centers on a Carbon Dioxide recycling technology, developed by the General Electric Company, about which we've already reported.
That earlier dispatch was published on the West Virginia Coal Association's web site on April 17 of 2011, and is accessible via the link:
West Virginia Coal Association | General Electric Recycles CO2 to Liquid Fuels | Research & Development.
Unfortunately, as too often happens with links to official United States Patent and Trademark Office, USPTO, documents, as we have noted for you previously, the web link which we enclosed in that report, as it is now posted on the WV Coal Association's web site, has not proven durable.
Herein, we wanted to affirm that the technology about which we reported in "General Electric Recycles CO2 to Liquid Fuels" is, indeed, real.
At the time of this transmission, the initial link in this dispatch does connect with:
"United States Patent Application 20070149392 - Reactor for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Conversion
Date: June, 2007
Inventor: Anthony Yu-Chung Ku, et. al., NY
Assignee: General Electric Company; Global Research, NY
(Before we proceed, this United States Patent Application is also now accessible via:
Patent US20070149392 - Reactor for carbon dioxide capture and conversion - Google Patents; and:
Reactor for carbon dioxide capture and conversion.
Further, should those links, and the one to the official USPTO record, soon fail to function, we have acquired, downloaded and saved a copy of the file itself. It is real. However, given the age of the Application, we expect that it will soon transition to an issued United States Patent. And, as soon as we become aware of that happening, we will alert you. - JtM)
Abstract: Disclosed herein is a multifunctional catalyst system comprising a substrate; and a catalyst pair disposed upon the substrate; wherein the catalyst pair comprises a first catalyst and a second catalyst; and wherein the first catalyst initiates or facilitates the reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide while the second catalyst initiates or facilitates the conversion of carbon monoxide to an organic compound. Disclosed herein is a method comprising reducing carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide in a first reaction catalyzed by a first catalyst; and reacting carbon monoxide with hydrogen in a second reaction catalyzed by second catalyst; wherein the first catalyst and the second catalyst are disposed upon a single substrate.
(Note that elemental, molecular Hydrogen is required for this CO2 recycling process. Our report of:
West Virginia Coal Association | GE Hydrogen from Water for CO2 Recycling and Coal Hydrogenation | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 3,992,271 - Method for Gas Generation; 1976; Assignee: General Electric Company; Abstract: A gas generation apparatus which is useful for the concentration of oxygen or for the generation of oxygen and hydrogen by electrolysis";
addresses that issue to some extent; although, since 1976, many genuine advances have been made in the efficient generation of Hydrogen for Carbon conversion purposes; among them being that seen in:
General Electric Hydrogen from Geothermal Energy | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 7,331,179 - System and Method for Production of Hydrogen; 2008; Assignee: General Electric Company; Abstract: A technique is disclosed for a system and method for combined production of power and hydrogen utilizing the heat from a first working fluid heated by a geothermal energy source using a steam generator and an electrolyzer designed to receive the steam produced by the steam generator for the production of hydrogen and oxygen using electrolysis".)
Claims: A multifunctional catalyst system comprising: a substrate; and a catalyst pair disposed upon the substrate; wherein the catalyst pair comprises a first catalyst and a second catalyst; and wherein the first catalyst initiates or facilitates the reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide while the second catalyst initiates or facilitates the conversion of carbon monoxide to an organic compound.
The multifunctional catalyst system ... wherein the organic compound is an olefin.
(Typical "olefin"s would include ethylene and propylene; and, there are what might be seen as a surprising number of technologies "out there" for synthesizing them by starting with Methane; which, as seen in:
Penn State Solar CO2 + H2O = Methane | Research & Development; concerning: "High-Rate Solar Photocatalytic Conversion of CO2 and Water Vapor to Hydrocarbon Fuels; The Pennsylvania State University; 2009; Efficient solar conversion of carbon dioxide and water vapor to methane and other hydrocarbons is achieved";
we can, using only sunlight to drive the process, also make from Carbon Dioxide.)
The multifunctional catalyst system ... wherein the organic compound is an oxygenate (and) wherein the oxygenate is an alcohol.
The multifunctional catalyst system ... wherein the substrate comprises inorganic oxides, inorganic carbides, inorganic nitrides, inorganic hydroxides, inorganic oxides having hydroxide coatings, inorganic carbonitrides, inorganic oxynitrides, inorganic borides, inorganic borocarbides, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing inorganic materials.
The multifunctional catalyst system ... wherein the substrate comprises a metal oxide, and wherein the metal oxide is alumina, silica, zirconia, titania, ceria, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing metal oxides.
(There is nothing "precious" or too exotic in any of the above catalytic "substrate"s.)
The multifunctional catalyst system ... wherein the first catalyst initiates or facilitates a reverse water gas shift reaction.
(Modeling of RWGS: "The Reverse Water Gas Shift (RWGS) reaction, which has been known since the mid-1800’s, ... combines carbon dioxide (CO2) with hydrogen (H2) over a copper catalyst ... to produce water (H2O) and carbon monoxide (CO).")
The multifunctional catalyst system ... wherein the second catalyst initiates or facilitates a Fischer-Tropsch reaction.
(Fischer–Tropsch process - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; "The Fischer–Tropsch process ... converts a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbons.")
The multifunctional catalyst system ... wherein the first catalyst comprises lead oxide, copper oxide and/or zinc oxide disposed upon an alumina substrate.
The multifunctional catalyst system ... wherein the first catalyst comprises platinum disposed upon a ceria substrate.
The multifunctional catalyst system ... wherein the second catalyst comprises Group VIII metals (iron, nickel, cobalt) disposed upon silica.
A method comprising: reducing carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide in a first reaction catalyzed by a first catalyst; and reacting carbon monoxide with hydrogen in a second reaction catalyzed by second catalyst; wherein the first catalyst and the second catalyst are disposed upon a single substrate.
The method ... wherein the reacting of carbon monoxide with hydrogen produces an organic compound.
The method ... wherein the organic compound is an olefin or an oxygenate (and) wherein the oxygenate is an alcohol.
(Though not specified herein by General Electric, typical "oxygenate"s that would be considered "alcohol"s are Methanol and Ethanol.)
The method ... wherein heat generated in the first reaction is utilized in the second reaction.
(Note the economy of internal recycling of heat energy derived from some exothermic reactions.
The method ... wherein the reducing carbon dioxide and the reacting carbon monoxide with hydrogen are both conducted at a temperature of about 180 to about 250C.
(Hot, but not red hot. Special refractory construction materials shouldn't be needed.)
Summary: Disclosed herein is a multifunctional catalyst system comprising a substrate; and a catalyst pair disposed upon the substrate; wherein the catalyst pair comprises a first catalyst and a second catalyst; and wherein the first catalyst initiates or facilitates the reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide while the second catalyst initiates or facilitates the conversion of carbon monoxide to an organic compound."
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We'll end our excerpts there, especially since we did discover some apparent typo's in the remainder of the Disclosure which we thought explanation and correction of would be a distraction.
In sum, the system and process of General Electric's "US Patent Application 20070149392 - Reactor for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Conversion" is one which uses a catalyst and elemental, molecular Hydrogen to efficiently, at moderate temperatures, that is, with modest energy input, first "split" Carbon Dioxide, into Carbon Monoxide and Water, H2O; and, then, in a contiguous reaction, combine the product Carbon Monoxide with more elemental, molecular Hydrogen to synthesize Alcohols and Hydrocarbons.
It seems to us a smooth, logical and efficient process, utilizing economical catalysts, although some small amount of Platinum is indicated as being helpful, and a minimal amount of energy, to chemically reduce Carbon Dioxide while producing, as a result, compounds which can be utilized either in the formulation of liquid fuels or in the further synthesis of certain plastics, wherein the Carbon Dioxide initially consumed would be, in theory, forever "sequestered".
And, those liquid fuels and those plastics would be produced without consuming any basic hydrocarbon resources.
The only thing, aside from some readily-available catalysts and a relatively small amount of energy, needed to make it work is, relative to the initial amount of Carbon Dioxide, a rather larger amount of elemental, molecular Hydrogen, which, for another example, as seen in:
More NASA Hydrogen from Water and Sunlight | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 4,051,005 - Photolytic Production of Hydrogen; 1977; Assignee: United Technologies Corporation; Government Interests: The invention described herein was made in the course of a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Abstract: Hydrogen and oxygen are produced from water in a process involving the photo-dissociation of molecular bromine with radiant energy at wavelengths within the visible light region. In the production of hydrogen from water the improvement which comprises: as an essential step thereof forming a water-halogen gas mixture and irradiating the mixture with radiation energy in the visible spectrum to form the corresponding hydrogen halide and processing the hydrogen halide to affect the release of hydrogen therefrom. A process for producing hydrogen from water (and) wherein the source of radiation is sunlight";
we can generate in systems that, using inexpensive and recyclable co-reactants, consume only Water and, in the case of the above "United States Patent 4,051,005", Solar light energy.
The technology disclosed herein is, in sum, a rather direct way of converting Carbon Dioxide into various types of Hydrocarbons that would be limited, in a practical sense, only by the availability of Hydrogen and, of course, Carbon Dioxide, which, as seen, for one example, in:
Carbon Dioxide Capture from Atmospheric Air | Research & Development; concerning: "Carbon Dioxide Capture from Atmospheric Air Using Sodium Hydroxide Spray; Environmental Science & Technology; American Chemical Society Publication; Joshuah K. Stolaroff, et. al., University of Calgary (and) Carnegie Mellon University; The analysis indicates that CO2 capture from air for climate change mitigation is technically feasible using off-the-shelf technology";
we can extract from the atmosphere itself, wherever happy confluences of abundant sunshine to drive the processes and steady breezes to bring in an endless supply of Carbon Dioxide might be together found.
In any case, this is a well-aged US Patent Application; and, we would expect a US Patent to issue from it sometime soon, in which case the new links we've provided herein will become useless. We will do our best to notify you of that when it occurs, but, we wanted to again document the technical details herein so that we can more reliably reference them in additional reports we have in process, reports further confirming the plain facts, that:
We can generate Hydrogen efficiently and economically; we can reclaim Carbon Dioxide efficiently and economically; and, we can combine the two of them in catalyzed, low-energy processes that result in the efficient production both of useful Alcohols and of needed gaseous and liquid Hydrocarbons.
