United States Patent Application: 0130035497
Our headline is overly simplistic. What a scientist at one of Taiwan's major universities has done is establish a way in which Carbon Dioxide can be chemically consumed as a raw material in the synthesis of a type of compound that can be itself utilized as a component in the further synthesis of certain types of plastic, wherein the original Carbon Dioxide would be, in theory forever, profitably and productively "sequestered"; but, which compound has other uses, as well, where the CO2 sequestration might be more transient.
Our dissertation won't, given our own personal limitations, be that satisfactory; but, we will try to explain as we go along through our excerpts from the initial link in this dispatch to the very recent:
"US Patent Application 20130035497 - Manufacturing Cyclic Carbonate from Carbon Dioxide
METHOD OF MANUFACTURING CYCLIC CARBONATE FROM CARBON DIOXIDE - Horng, Shiey-shiun
Date: February, 2013
Inventor: Shiey-Shiun Horng, Taiwan
(As we've noted previously, early versions of US Patent Applications most often do not name the ultimate Assignee of patent rights; or, otherwise identify for whom the inventor might be working. Web-based references indicate in this case that the Inventor named herein is actually one Richard Shiey-Shiun Horng, a scholar in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Taiwan's I-Shou University, as more fully described via:
I-Shou University; "Formerly called Kaohsiung Polytechnic Institute (KPI), ISU was established in 1986 by Chairman I-Shou Lin of E United Group ... . The Institute was officially renamed I-Shou University (ISU) in 1997. Currently it has eight colleges: College of Science & Engineering, College of Electrical & Information Engineering, College of Management, Medical Disciplines, International College, College of Tourism & Hospitality, College of Language Arts, and College of Communication & Design. In 2012, ISU has 40 departments offering 18 master’s programs, 7 doctoral programs, 12 evening bachelor’s degree programs, 9 in-service master’s programs, and 3 two-year in-service programs. The number of students exceeds 16,000 and keeps growing. ISU has gradually developed into an international academic institution that strikes a balance between liberal arts and scientific studies"; and:
http://www.isu.edu.tw/upload/81202e/2/Richard1.pdf; "(Richard Shiey-Shiun Horng's major) research interests focus on industrial energy -saving, green process development of carbon dioxide utilization, phase equilibrium and correlation development for special chemicals, reactive distillation technology and reaction kinetics".)
Abstract: A method of manufacturing cyclic carbonate with carbon dioxide including the steps of placing solid catalyst in a reaction tube, vaporizing epoxide molecules within a buffer tank to obtain an epoxide vapor, and injecting carbon dioxide into the buffer tank. The carbon dioxide mixes with the epoxide vapor in the buffer tank to obtain an air mixture. The air mixture is then conducted into the reaction tube, where catalysis by the solid catalyst generates cyclic carbonate.
(Concerning the "cyclic carbonate" product of this Carbon Dioxide recycling process, see:
http://144.206.159.178/ft/885/92512/1608531.pdf; "Cyclic carbonate functional polymers and their applications; Dean C. Webster; Department of Polymers and Coatings, North Dakota State University; 2003;
Abstract: Polymers containing ... cyclic carbonate groups show promise in a number of different applications. Polymers containing cyclic carbonate groups can be synthesized by the free radical copolymerization of a cyclic carbonate ... . A number of cyclic carbonate containing monomers have been explored including propylene carbonate methacrylate and acrylate, vinylene carbonate, glycerin carbonate vinyl ether, and vinyl ethylene carbonate. Another synthesis route involves the conversion of oxirane groups on epoxy resins to cyclic carbonate groups by reaction with CO2. Research has focused on the reaction of the cyclic carbonate group with amines to form hydroxyurethanes. Difunctional cyclic carbonates reacted with diamines result in linear thermoplastic polyurethanes, while multifunctional cyclic carbonates reacted with multifunctional amines result in cross-linked polyurethanes; and:
http://www.huntsman.com/
agents, and solvents, to name a few, is also discussed".
In the above "polymers", "thermoplastic polyurethanes" and "cross-linked polyurethanes", any Carbon Dioxide consumed in the synthesis of the raw material "cyclic carbonate" would be forever chemically, and productively, sequestered, unless the "polymer", i.e., plastic, was somehow burned.)
Claims: A method of manufacturing cyclic carbonate with carbon dioxide comprising: placing ionic or ionizable solid catalyst in a reaction tube; vaporizing epoxide molecules in a buffer tank to obtain an epoxide vapor; and performing a cycloaddition reaction, by feeding carbon dioxide into the buffer tank, where the carbon dioxide mixes with the epoxide vapor in the buffer tank to obtain an air mixture, and the mixture flows into the reaction tube, in which cyclic carbonate is generated in a catalytic fixed-bed.(Note the potential for reacting Carbon Dioxide with an "epoxide". We have made previous report on such potential, as seen in:
West Virginia Coal Association | CO2 to Plastics | Research & Development; concerning: "A Cornell University research group has made a sweet and environmentally beneficial discovery -- how to make plastics from citrus fruits, such as oranges, and carbon dioxide. In a paper published in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society (Sept. 2004), Geoffrey Coates, a Cornell professor of chemistry and chemical biology, and his graduate students Chris Byrne and Scott Allen describe a way to make polymers using limonene oxide and carbon dioxide ... ".And, as explained more fully in:
http://www.angelfire.com/bug2/bignuggets/plastic_orange.pdf; "'Alternating Copolymerization of Limonene Oxide and Carbon Dioxide'; Cornell University; The discovery and use of abundant naturally occurring compounds for chemical synthesis is an important strategy for reducing our dependence on petroleum-derived raw materials.The use of carbon dioxide as an inexpensive C1 feedstock is of particular note, especially for the alternating copolymerization with epoxides. While the use of CO2 does carry several benefits, such as low toxicity and general abundance, most epoxide/CO2 copolymerization systems focus on petroleum derivatives such as propylene oxide or cyclohexene oxide.While new substrates have been explored, the use of epoxides based on biorenewable resources has not been reported. Given our previous work on the copolymerization of epoxides and CO2 using â-diiminate (BDI) zinc complexes, we focused on limonene oxide, derived from the naturally occurring cyclic monoterpene, limonene";
the "limonene oxide" derived from citrus fruit peels is just such an "epoxide" as specified herein by Horng. Moreover, there is a large body of supporting technical literature readily accessible which attests to the potentials for catalytically reacting Carbon Dioxide with a variety of epoxides.)
The method of manufacturing cyclic carbonate with carbon dioxide ... wherein, before the step of placing, an ionic liquid is immobilized on a carrier to obtain the ionic or ionizable solid catalyst (and) wherein the carrier is selected from one of silica gel, active carbon, zeolite or other silicic materials.
The method of manufacturing cyclic carbonate with carbon dioxide ... wherein, before the step of placing, surfaces of the ionic or ionizable solid catalyst are coated with a layer of Lewis acid.
(We've made note in other reports of the use of "Lewis acid" as a catalyst or catalyst promoter in various Carbon conversion reactions. Such "Lewis acid" catalysts are long, and well, known in the chemical processing industry. For a general introduction and explanation that, even though "general", only a chemical engineer could love, see:
Lewis acids and bases - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
The method of manufacturing cyclic carbonate with carbon dioxide ... wherein, before the step of placing, surfaces of the ionic or ionizable solid catalyst are coated with a layer of Lewis acid ... .
The method of manufacturing cyclic carbonate with carbon dioxide ... wherein, before the step of cycloaddition reaction, the ratio between the epoxide vapor and the carbon dioxide is set in a value between 0.095 and 2.
(We don't, in other words, need very much "epoxide vapor", at all, to convert a lot of "carbon dioxide" into "cyclic carbonate".)
The method of manufacturing cyclic carbonate with carbon dioxide as claimed in claim 1, wherein the epoxide molecules are selected from one of ethylene oxide or propylene oxide.
(As can be learned via:
Propylene oxide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and Ethylene oxide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; both of the specified "epoxides", as alternatives to our earlier-suggested "limonene oxide", are well-known, available on a commodity basis, and very widely-used. The "ethylene oxide", unfortunately, can be somewhat hazardous to work with, the "propylene oxide" not so much so.)
Background and Field: The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing cyclic carbonate and, in particular, to a method of manufacturing cyclic carbonate from carbon dioxide in a continuous process.
Cyclic carbonate is widely used in the manufacturing industry as a raw material in solvents, paint-strippers, and biodegradable products. Cyclic carbonate can also be used in the pharmaceutical industry, in the electronic industry as a solvent in lithium batteries for enhancing the electrical conductivity of lithium, and in the petroleum industry as an antiknock for promoting the stability of petrol.
F, by mixing carbon monoxide and chlorine to obtain phosgene (also known as COCl2), and by further reacting with phenol or ethanol to obtain cyclic carbonate. For example, cyclic carbonate and hydrochloric acid are generated when bisphenol and phosgene are reacted in an environment containing an alkaline solution and dichloromethane. However, the process of manufacturing cyclic carbonate described above is complicated and risky due to the toxicity of phosgene and dichloromethane. Hence, the phosgenation method for manufacturing cyclic carbonate risks potential environmental pollution and endangers living organisms.
Recently, carbon dioxide has replaced the materials formerly used to manufacture cyclic carbonate, with a cycloaddition of carbon dioxide to epoxide to produce cyclic carbonate. Mainly, the carbon dioxide used in the manufacture of cyclic carbonate is derived from chemical processes such as petrochemical, power generation or metalworking processes.
Using CO2 as a raw material is not only more ecologically friendly, but also economical and convenient.
Summary: The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing cyclic carbonate from carbon dioxide in a continuous process ... .
The secondary objective of the present invention is to provide a more convenient method of manufacturing cyclic carbonate with carbon dioxide, in which the need for repeated cleaning of the reactor after use is eliminated.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing cyclic carbonate from carbon dioxide, which can avoid the disadvantages caused by complicate reacting mixture, so as to be highly efficient.
A method of manufacturing cyclic carbonate with carbon dioxide comprises a step of "placement," by placing a solid catalyst into a reaction tube; a step of "vaporization," by vaporizing epoxide molecules within a buffer tank to obtain an epoxide vapor; and a step of "cyclization," by injecting carbon dioxide into the buffer tank, with the carbon dioxide mixing with the vaporized epoxide in the buffer tank to obtain an air mixture, which is then conducting into the reaction tube, generating cyclic carbonate continuously under fixed-bed catalysis."
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Once again, as in our citation of: "'Reactive Applications of Cyclic Alkylene Carbonates'; Huntsman Petrochemical Corporation; ...numerous reactive applications of the cyclic alkylene carbonates (exist, including) the preparation of industrially useful monomers, polymers", there are many more applications for "cyclic carbonates", as synthesized herein, by the process of our subject, "United Statse Patent Application 20130035497 - Manufacturing Cyclic Carbonate from Carbon Dioxide", than those actually identified in the Disclosure itself.
But, the point, as again confirmed herein, is that Carbon Dioxide - - as can be "derived" as a byproduct "from ... power generation" - - is a valuable raw material resource.
We can react it with commodity chemicals, like "propylene oxide", or similar, naturally CO2-recycling botanical products, as in our citation of the Cornell University research concerning reactions of CO2 and "limonene oxide", and thereby make "cyclic carbonates" useful in the "preparation of ... polymers".
We don't have to debate the pros and cons, the reality of, climate change "science".
We don't have to pay Cap and Trade tax extortions.
We don't have to import petrochemicals just so that we can manufacture plastics.
We can recycle, we can productively utilize, Carbon Dioxide.