What Can We Do With All The Carbon Dioxide?

In the article C&EN senior editor Stephen K. Ritter points out that the global chemical industry already uses about 115 million tons of CO₂ annually as a chemical feedstock, that is, as a raw material to manufacture other chemicals and products. Products routinely produced from CO₂ range from aspirin to fertilizer. Even a major scale-up in the industrial use of CO₂ would hardly put a dent in the emissions and buildup of this greenhouse gas, however. Since global CO₂ emissions (mainly from coal-fired electric power plants) total an estimated 24 billion tons, technology for capturing and storing the gas still are essential in a battle against global warming, the article explains.

Even with that proviso, Ritter points out that increased chemical industry use of CO₂ could be an important part of a multi-faceted program to control global warming. The article describes a wide range of research projects underway in academia and industry to find practical uses for CO₂. One process under investigation in the United Kingdom, for instance, focuses on converting CO₂ into formic acid, which could be used to power fuel cells for electric vehicles and a raw material to make other fuels. Another promising process, among many being developed in the United States, involves making polycarbonate plastics that contain up to 50 percent CO₂ by weight.

Article: "What Can We Do With CO₂?" Chemical & Engineering News