Recently，A research group led by Prof.Zhongmin Liuand Prof.Wenliang Zhu fromDalian Institute of Chemical Physicsof the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a process over InZrO_xand SSZ-13 composite catalyst for CO₂hydrogenation to Propane.The selectivity of carbon dioxide hydrogenation products toward a single C₂+ hydrocarbon product (>70% propane) was regulated by partial oxygen vacancy of metal oxide and partial acidity of molecular sieve in the composite catalyst.

In recent years, with the growth of the energy demand and theburning of fossil fuel, a considerable amount of CO₂is emitted into theatmosphere and causes damage to the environment. Direct converting carbon dioxide into hydrocarbon fuels and value-added chemicalswould offer a very attractive approach for efficient utilization of CO₂as a carbonresource. Althougholefins, aromatics and gasoline have been successfully synthesizedby CO₂hydrogenation, highly selective conversion of CO₂and H₂into C₂+ hydrocarbons is still challenging due to a high C–C coupling barrier and inhibiting the production ofother long-chain hydrocarbons.

In this work, scientists report a composite catalyst withInZrO_xand SSZ-13 molecular sieve (InZrO_x+SSZ-13)exhibits 74.5% propaneselectivity at 623 K. The 8-MR micropores and the higher strength of the acid for SSZ-13 benefit the formation of propane. Compared with pure InZrO_xand SSZ-13, thecomposite oxide InZrO_x, containing more oxygen vacancies, exhibits to be more readilyreduced by H₂and easier to adsorb and desorb CO₂within the reaction temperature, whichfavors the activation and conversion of H₂and CO₂. The catalyticperformance of InZrO_x+SSZ-13 in CO₂hydrogenation provides a potential forproduction of propane.

This work was supported by the National Natural ScienceFoundation of China and the“Transformational Technologies for Clean Energy and Demonstration ” , StrategicPriority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.(Text by Zhaopeng Liu)

This work was published inJournal of Energy Chemistryon April 2020.

Conversion of CO2 and H2 into propane over InZrOx and SSZ-13 composite catalyst. Zhaopeng Liu, Youming Ni, Tantan Sun, Wenliang Zhu*, Zhongmin Liu*, Journal of Energy Chemistry, 54:111-117, 2020.