Quo Vadis Dry Reforming of Methane?—A Review on Its Chemical, Environmental, and Industrial Prospects

oleh: Luis E. Sandoval-Diaz, Robert Schlögl, Thomas Lunkenbein

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-04-01

Deskripsi

In recent years, the catalytic dry reforming of methane (DRM) has increasingly come into academic focus. The interesting aspect of this reaction is seemingly the conversion of CO<sub>2</sub> and methane, two greenhouse gases, into a valuable synthesis gas (syngas) mixture with an otherwise unachievable but industrially relevant H<sub>2</sub>/CO ratio of one. In a possible scenario, the chemical conversion of CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub> to syngas could be used in consecutive reactions to produce synthetic fuels, with combustion to harness the stored energy. Although the educts of DRM suggest a superior impact of this reaction to mitigate global warming, its potential as a chemical energy converter and greenhouse gas absorber has still to be elucidated. In this review article, we will provide insights into the industrial maturity of this reaction and critically discuss its applicability as a cornerstone in the energy transition. We derive these insights from assessing the current state of research and knowledge on DRM. We conclude that the entire industrial process of syngas production from two greenhouse gases, including heating with current technologies, releases at least 1.23 moles of CO<sub>2</sub> per mol of CO<sub>2</sub> converted in the catalytic reaction. Furthermore, we show that synthetic fuels derived from this reaction exhibit a negative carbon dioxide capturing efficiency which is similar to burning methane directly in the air. We also outline potential applications and introduce prospective technologies toward a net-zero CO<sub>2</sub> strategy based on DRM.