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Can We Afford to Waste Carbon Dioxide? Carbon Dioxide as a Valuable Source of Carbon for the Production of Light Olefins
Author(s) -
Centi Gabriele,
Iaquaniello Gaetano,
Perathoner Siglinda
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201100313
Subject(s) - renewable energy , fossil fuel , carbon sequestration , reuse , greenhouse gas , environmental science , carbon dioxide , syngas , production (economics) , raw material , resource (disambiguation) , carbon neutrality , climate change mitigation , carbon fibers , natural resource economics , waste management , renewable resource , carbon neutral fuel , carbon dioxide removal , chemistry , materials science , computer science , engineering , economics , catalysis , macroeconomics , ecology , computer network , biology , biochemistry , organic chemistry , electrical engineering , composite number , composite material
Abstract Concerns about climate change have increased the amount of activity on carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) as one of the solutions to the problem of rising levels of CO 2 in the troposphere, while the reuse of CO 2 (carbon capture and recycling; CCR) has only recently received more attention. CCR is focused on the possibility of using CO 2 as a cheap (or even negative‐value) raw material. This Concept paper analyzes this possibility from a different perspective: In a sustainable vision, can we afford to waste CO 2 as a source of carbon in a changing world faced with a fast depletion of natural carbon sources and in need of a low‐carbon, resource‐efficient economy? One of the points emerging from this discussion concerns the use of CO 2 for the production of olefins (substituting into or integrating with current energy‐intensive methodologies that start from oil or syngas from other fossil fuel resources) if H 2 from renewable resources were available at competitive costs. This offers an opportunity to accelerate the introduction of renewable energy into the chemical production chain, and thus to improve resource efficiency in this important manufacturing sector.