Valorizing CO2: Exploring catalysts and process design for the methanol-mediated synthesis of C4+ fuels

Promovendus/a: Foteini Lappa

Promotor(en): Prof. ir. Michiel Dusselier, Dr. Grégoire Leonard

Among the many technologies that have been studied in an effort to reduce CO2 emissions by capturing it, storing it or using it, the thermocatalytic CO2 conversion to valuable hydrocarbons has gained a lot of attention. Using methanol as an intermediate step is an interesting route because methanol is a high value product in itself and can be combined with the methanol-to-hydrocarbons process that can achieve high selectivities to a range of products. The practical goals of the present PhD are to understand better the complex tandem systems and study certain areas that have been understudied or studied in a different perspective.

The PhD thesis starts with a critical review that focuses on the state-of-the-art advances in the field (Chapter 1) and proceeds with a detailed description of the scope and goals (Chapter 2). In Chapter 3, the importance of the choice of bed configuration for the tandem system of ZnZrOx and beta zeolites is focused on. Using the knowledge obtained from Chapter 3, in Chapter 4, an effort is made to enhance the performance of the same tandem system (modifications of the oxide, modifications of the zeolite and adding an extra reaction step by adding an extra catalytic layer). In Chapter 5, a reaction model was developed using as an input the experimental data obtained from the previous chapters. Lastly, in Chapter 6, a discussion is made on the future potential developments of the present work.