Industrial High-Pressures CO2 Valorization into Higher Alcohols: Mechanistic Decoding via Spatially Resolved Operando Spectroscopy

Objective

The conversion of CO2 into higher alcohols (C2⁺-OH, e.g. ethanol, propanol) would deliver safe hydrogen carriers, renewable fuels, and versatile chemicals for a circular carbon economy, fulfilling the EU’s climate change scenarios and targets (EU Green Deal, the Fit for 55 package, or the Strategic Energy Technology Plan). Yet today, their production still relies on fossil resources or inefficient fermentation, as the selective CO2 hydrogenation to these long-chain alcohols (HAS) remains one of the biggest challenges in catalysis. This project, supervised by a world leader in CO2 hydrogenation and operando spectroscopy at TU Delft (Prof. Atsushi Urakawa), pioneers a breakthrough approach by merging a systematic study using industrial-level high-pressure testing (>200 bar) with spatially resolved operando spectroscopy—a unique combination never applied yet to CO2-to-higher alcohols research. The combination of these methods will replicate true industrial conditions while directly revealing the mechanistic pathway, getting insight into how key intermediates form and evolve across the catalyst bed, allowing a more efficient catalyst and process rational design. The main goal of this project includes (i) developing multifunctional/tandem catalysts tailored for CO2-to-HAS, (ii) benchmarking performance under realistic high-pressure, low-temperature windows, and (iii) mapping reaction pathways to unlock rational catalyst design. Bridging the gap between lab-scale studies and industrial practice in this project will deliver the first systematic exploration of CO2 hydrogenation to higher alcohols under realistic conditions, resulting in and establishing innovative design principles for catalysts and processes, enabling sustainable, large-scale CO2 valorization.