Recent advances in hydrogenation of CO2 into hydrocarbons via methanol intermediate over heterogeneous catalysts

Review article, 2021

The efficient conversion of CO2 to hydrocarbons offers a way to replace the dependency on fossil fuels and mitigate the accumulation of surplus CO2 in the atmosphere that causes global warming. Therefore, various efforts have been made in recent years to convert CO2 to fuels and value-added chemicals. In this review, the direct and indirect hydrogenation of CO2 to hydrocarbons via methanol as an intermediate is spotlighted. We discuss the most recent approaches in the direct hydrogenation of CO2 into hydrocarbons via the methanol route wherein catalyst design, catalyst performance, and the reaction mechanism of CO2 hydrogenation are discussed in detail. As a comparison, various studies related to CO2 to methanol on transition metals and metal oxide-based catalysts and methanol to hydrocarbons are also provided, and the performance of various zeolite catalysts in H-2, CO2, and H2O rich environments is discussed during the conversion of methanol to hydrocarbons. In addition, a detailed analysis of the performance and mechanisms of the CO2 hydrogenation reactions is summarized based on different kinetic modeling studies. The challenges remaining in this field are analyzed and future directions associated with direct synthesis of hydrocarbons from CO2 are outlined.