(622a) Enhanced Reactive Carbon Capture and Methanation through Catalyst and Process Optimization.

In recent years, CO₂ utilization has garnered significant attention as a possible route for generating carbon-neutral/negative fuels and products. Currently, CO₂ utilization occurs in two steps, often in separate locations. As a result, this process requires energy-intensive compression and transportation to get the CO₂ from the capture site to the conversion site. Reactive carbon capture (RCC) is a promising alternative strategy that combines CO₂ capture and conversion into a single, integrated process. RCC can be further simplified by locating the CO₂ capture agent and catalytically active metal on the same material, known as a dual function material (DFM).

DFMs have been studied extensively for the capture and conversion of CO₂ into CH₄. Traditionally, the CO₂ capture agent is an alkaline oxide (such as CaO_, Na₂O, or K₂O), the conversion material is a catalytic metal (such as Ru or Ni), and the support is a high surface area oxide. The choice of capture agent and active metal has been studied in the literature extensively, but the role of the support is not well understood. In this presentation, we will compare the performance of DFMs supported on a variety of metal oxides (Al₂O₃, CeO₂, SiO₂, and TiO₂) and discuss the impact of physicochemical properties on specific RCC metrics, such as CO₂ conversion, CH₄ production, and CO₂ “slip” (desorbed, unreacted CO₂). We will also report our findings on the impact of RCC process conditions (such as CO₂ loading temperature, H₂ concentration, CO₂ concentration, rate of heating, and others) on overall RCC performance. Ultimately, we will show an optimized RCC process with rationally designed DFM that we are currently planning to scale-up using larger, continuous reactor configurations.