Nano-structured Catalysts for CO2 Reduction to Fuels

化石燃料是社会的主要能源，也是化学工业的主要原料。但是，它们的可持续性、耗竭和费用方面存在重大问题。特别是，英国北海的许多储量将很快变得不经济/枯竭，因此我们迫切需要寻找替代品。此外，燃烧化石燃料，例如在能源转换过程中，会释放二氧化碳和其他温室气体，导致全球变暖。英国已经承诺到2050年将温室气体排放量减少80%，但为了防止毁灭性的气候变化（气温上升2摄氏度），可能需要更大幅度的减排（85%）。电力和运输的能源转换占二氧化碳排放量的74%；新的可持续能源是必不可少的。这些新能源必须是二氧化碳中性的，或者更好的是二氧化碳消耗。一种解决方案是使用二氧化碳本身作为燃料和原料。我们的解决方案是使用化学、光化学或电化学催化剂，将二氧化碳与H2或水反应，生产液体运输燃料，如甲醇。来自发电站和/或工业过程（如金属/合金制造）的烟气是英国二氧化碳排放的主要来源，在可预见的未来将成为大量的二氧化碳来源。许多其他工业排放物也含有相当浓度的二氧化碳，包括来自生物过程的排放物，例如发酵。所需的氢气将由太阳能或其他可再生能源驱动的水电解产生。关键的经济问题在于减少过程所需的能源。我们的目标是通过开发新的、高活性的金属/金属氧化物纳米结构催化剂来实现这一目标，这种催化剂由于其高表面积、低负载、低过电位和可控制合成而具有优越的性能。我们将使用三种平行但互补的方法来激活这一过程：直接化学（热）氢化，电化学和光化学减少二氧化碳和水。我们的团队由伦敦帝国理工学院和伦敦大学学院的科学家、工程师和环境政策研究人员组成。我们在化学催化、电化学、光化学、反应器工程、材料科学、纳米技术、可持续化学和环境科学方面拥有专业知识。我们在活化和利用二氧化碳作为资源方面有着显著的记录。该项目还将涉及与伦敦帝国理工学院碳捕集与封存中心（CCS）、能源期货实验室和格兰瑟姆气候变化研究所的合作，并得到后者的支持。

Fossil fuels are society's major energy sources and the primary raw materials for the chemicals industry. However, there are significant concerns associated with their sustainability, depletion and cost. In particular, many of the UK's North Sea reserves will soon become uneconomic / depleted, so we need to find alternatives urgently. Furthermore, the combustion of fossil fuels, e.g. during energy conversion, releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. The UK is already committed to an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but significantly greater reductions (85%) are likely to be necessary in order to prevent devastating climate change (>2 degree C increase in temperature). Energy conversion for electricity and transport is responsible for 74% of CO2 emissions; new sustainable energy sources are essential. These new energy sources must be CO2 neutral or, even better, CO2 depleting. One solution is to use carbon dioxide itself as the fuel and feedstock material. Our solution is to react CO2 with H2 or water, using chemical, photochemical or electrochemical catalysts, to produce liquid transport fuels, such as methanol. Flue gases from power stations and/or industrial process, such as metal/alloy manufacture, are major contributors to UK CO2 emissions and will be abundant sources of CO2 for the foreseeable future. Many other industrial emissions also contain considerable concentrations of CO2 including those derived from biological processes, e.g. fermentation. The hydrogen required will be produced by water electrolysis powered by solar or other renewable source of energy. The key economic issue lies in decreasing the energy required for the processes. We aim to achieve this via the development of new, highly active metal/metal oxide nano-structured catalysts, which offer superior performance due to their high surface areas, reduced loadings, low overpotentials and which can be synthesised controllably. We shall use three parallel, yet complementary, approaches to energise the process: direct chemical (thermal) hydrogenation, electrochemical and photochemical reductions of carbon dioxide and water.Our team comprises scientist, engineers and environmental policy researchers at Imperial College London and University College London. We have expertise in chemical catalysis, electrochemistry, photochemistry, reactor engineering, materials science, nanotechnology, sustainable chemistry and environmental science. We have a significant track record in the activation and use of carbon dioxide as a resource. The project will also involve collaborations with, and be support by, the Imperial College London Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), the Energy Futures Lab and the Grantham Institute for Climate Change.