Japan sees that a free resource CO2, with Water, Electricity and a Catalyst Can Produce Ethanol and Synthesized Materials. Now, can it be made into a Profitable Business?

Govt to investigate utilization of CO2

The Yomiuri ShimbunThe government will start practical trials in fiscal 2018 to utilize carbon dioxide discharged from industrial plants and other facilities, turning it into fuels such as ethanol and synthesizing it into materials for producing synthetic resins.

From article, (The government will start practical trials in fiscal 2018 to utilize carbon dioxide discharged from industrial plants and other facilities, turning it into fuels such as ethanol and synthesizing it into materials for producing synthetic resins.

It will establish about four facilities in the nation for the trials, which will be conducted for five years until fiscal 2022 to examine profitability and other factors.

If the conversion of CO2 is put into practice, it is expected that the nation’s CO2 emissions could be drastically reduced. Therefore, it is expected that the conversion system will enable the nation to get closer to its CO2 emissions reduction goal set under the Paris Agreement (see below), an international framework for taking measures against global warming.

The practical trials will be implemented at two kinds of facilities. At one kind, CO2 discharged from facilities such as garbage incineration sites and manufacturing plants will be utilized. At the other, artificial photosynthesis will be triggered using CO2 already in the air. From April, the government will publicly seek cooperation from entities studying the conversion of CO2 into resources, such as companies, universities and research institutions. The government will then choose trusted contractors from among these groups, with the aim of making the experimental facilities fully operational from fiscal 2019.

The conversion process involves chemical reactions between CO2 and either hydrogen or water using photocatalysts and other tools, and produces organic compounds such as ethanol, methanol and formic acid. The government expects that the organic compounds will be used for the production of fuels for machinery at plants and synthetic resins, which are processed into materials used for various kinds of products.

Such conversion of CO2 has already been successfully achieved by domestic chemical makers and universities in the research and development stage. But tasks remain when it comes to putting the technology to practical use, such as whether it can be profitable. Therefore, in the trials, in which all processes up to the production of the materials will be conducted, the government will examine factors such as costs and the quality of the products so that it can find out whether CO2 conversion can be operated as a business. )

For More Info