Converting CO2 into value-added chemicals and fuels is one of the most practical routes for reducing CO2 emissions while fossil fuels continue to dominate the energy sector. In the past few years our group has explored the strategy of simultaneously upgrading the greenhouse gas CO2 and the underutilized light alkanes in shale gas. In this talk we will discuss recent progress from our group in CO2-assited aromatization and hydroformylation reactions of light alkanes. Depending on the selective bond cleavage of light alkanes, the gaseous products can be syngas (CO and H2) and olefins from the CO2-assisted dry reforming (both C–C and C–H bond scission) and oxidative dehydrogenation (C–H bond scission only) pathways, respectively. Moreover, the gaseous product stream (CO, H2 and olefins) can be further upgraded into value-added liquid products, such as aromatics (e.g., benzene, toluene, and xylenes) via a tandem aromatization process or oxygenates via a downstream hydroformylation process using tandem reactors. In addition to being higher-value, the aromatics and oxygenate products typically exist as liquid, which should help reduce the cost associated with product separation. These examples demonstrate the feasibility of efficient upgrading of light alkanes while simultaneously reducing CO2.

Simultaneously upgrading CO2 and light alkanes into aromatics and oxygenates

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ACS Fall 2022

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