Issue 10, 2020

Power-to-liquid via synthesis of methanol, DME or Fischer–Tropsch-fuels: a review

Abstract

The conversion of H2 and CO2 to liquid fuels via Power-to-Liquid (PtL) processes is gaining attention. With their higher energy densities compared to gases, the use of synthetic liquid fuels is particularly interesting in hard-to-abate sectors for which decarbonisation is difficult. However, PtL poses new challenges for the synthesis: away from syngas-based, continuously run, large-scale plants towards more flexible, small-scale concepts with direct CO2-utilisation. This review provides an overview of state of the art synthesis technologies as well as current developments and pilot plants for the most prominent PtL routes for methanol, DME and Fischer–Tropsch-fuels. It should serve as a benchmark for future concepts, guide researchers in their process development and allow a technological evaluation of alternative reactor designs. In the case of power-to-methanol and power-to-FT-fuels, several pilot plants have been realised and the first commercial scale plants are planned or already in operation. In comparison power-to-DME is much less investigated and in an earlier stage of development. For methanol the direct CO2 hydrogenation offers advantages through less by-product formation and lower heat development. However, increased water formation and lower equilibrium conversion necessitate new catalysts and reactor designs. While DME synthesis offers benefits with regards to energy efficiency, operational experience from laboratory tests and pilot plants is still missing. Furthermore, four major process routes for power-to-DME are possible, requiring additional research to determine the optimal concept. In the case of Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, catalysts for direct CO2 utilisation are still in an early stage. Consequently, today's Fischer–Tropsch-based PtL requires a shift to syngas, benefiting from advances in co-electrolysis and reverse water-gas shift reactor design.

Graphical abstract: Power-to-liquid via synthesis of methanol, DME or Fischer–Tropsch-fuels: a review

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
15 4月 2020
Accepted
14 7月 2020
First published
13 8月 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Energy Environ. Sci., 2020,13, 3207-3252

Power-to-liquid via synthesis of methanol, DME or Fischer–Tropsch-fuels: a review

V. Dieterich, A. Buttler, A. Hanel, H. Spliethoff and S. Fendt, Energy Environ. Sci., 2020, 13, 3207 DOI: 10.1039/D0EE01187H

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements