Project description
Lighting up the conversion of CO2 into methanol
With several advantages as a carbon-neutral fuel, methanol is an attractive energy vector that can be produced using only renewable resources. In this context, the EU-funded METHASOL project will create a sustainable and cost-efficient production process that relies on selective visible-light-driven gas-phase CO2 reduction, with a solar energy to methanol conversion efficiency of 5 %. The consortium consists of 14 partners from the EU and Associated Member States (China and the United States), including international researchers on artificial photosynthesis. The project will achieve a pioneering combination of a CO2 reduction reaction system based on a metal-organic framework and a graphitic carbon nitride for photocatalytic oxygen evolution reactions, through a Z-scheme heterojunction.
Objective
Methanol is an appealing energy vectors, with attractive volumetric and gravimetric energy values, storable in liquid phase at ambient conditions of pressure and temperature, and that can be used as fuel directly or converted into chemicals or gasoline. However, its production lacks a sustainable route. Thus, the METHASOL project aims to produce methanol through a sustainable and cost-effective process based on the selective visible light driven gas phase CO2 reduction, with a solar to methanol energy conversion efficiency of 5%. During 42 months, METHASOL will gather 14 partners from EU/Associated MS, China and the USA, including some of the world’s most recognized researchers on artificial photosynthesis, to achieve a ground-breaking combination of a CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) system based on Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) and a graphitic Carbon Nitride (g-CN) for photocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER), through a Z-scheme heterojunction.
Following the definition of the system specifications (WP1), a first set of materials for OER and CO2RR will be synthesised and their photocatalytic activity and stability will be screened (WP2). The most promising materials will be further analysed thanks to experimental characterisation and modelling (WP3), leading to guidelines used for designing an enhanced CO2RR and OER materials (WP4). The best systems will then be integrated through a Z-scheme heterojunction, either with or without a mediator, and tested in tailored reactors operating in the gas phase under different conditions (WP5). A complete sustainability analysis will be conducted (WP6) to ensure the clean production of methanol. The cooperation between European and Chinese research entities will be consolidated to last beyond the project lifetime through the creation of a common exploitation plan (WP7). Through its ambitious activities on photocatalyst developments for solar to methanol conversion, METHASOL will propose a new path for decarbonizing Europe.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsliquid fuels
- natural scienceschemical sciencescatalysisphotocatalysis
- natural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryalcohols
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbotany
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsenergy conversion
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Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
46022 Valencia
Spain