Shifting the equilibrium of methanol synthesis from CO by absorption using ionic liquid media

• Published in: Sustainable energy & fuels Vol. 3; no. 12; pp. 3399 - 345
• Main Authors: Reichert, Jenny, Maerten, Stephanie, Meltzer, Katharina, Tremel, Alexander, Baldauf, Manfred, Wasserscheid, Peter, Albert, Jakob
• Format: Journal Article
• Published: 19.11.2019
• ISSN: 2398-4902
• DOI: 10.1039/c9se00494g

Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power generate fluctuating electric energy. To bridge energy-lean times and to utilize the temporal surplus of electricity production large amounts of energy must be stored. One promising approach is the chemical storage in methanol that is formed from renewable H 2 from water electrolysis and CO 2 . In our contribution we demonstrate a way to increase the methanol yields in CO 2 hydrogenation significantly by in situ sorption of methanol and water in alkali salt-doped ionic liquids (ILs). The reaction and product sorption take place in a single reactor vessel which shifts the methanol yield from the thermodynamic equilibrium of 25.3% at 75 bar (H 2  : CO 2 = 3 : 1) and 250 °C up to 60%. A promising way to increase the methanol yields in CO 2 hydrogenation significantly up to 60% by in situ sorption of methanol and water in alkali salt-doped ionic liquids (ILs) is demonstrated.