The way of resource utilization of carbon dioxide driven by double carbon goal

In recent years, many industries are looking for a two-carbon solution, of which the capture and use of carbon dioxide is the most important part. In theory, carbon dioxide can produce a variety of carbon-containing compounds, but based on factors such as technology and cost, the current direction of use of carbon dioxide is actually limited.

First, the industrial application direction of carbon dioxide has been realized

The industrial use of carbon dioxide has been going on for decades and on a large scale. The applications of carbon dioxide can be roughly divided into industrial, food and chemical industries.

Carbon dioxide for industrial applications, mainly as a water treatment PH controller, welding gas, plant growth stimulant, as well as hardening film and core pneumatic devices in the casting process, can also be used as a fungicide. The carbon dioxide used in industry has a wide range of applications and is also the main application direction of carbon dioxide at present.

In the food industry, carbon dioxide can be used as a carbonated beverage, beer additive, an inert protective gas in food processing, and a refrigerator in food transportation. The application scale of carbon dioxide in the food industry is small, but the quality requirements for carbon dioxide are high.

In the field of chemical production, due to the limitations of carbon dioxide in collection, production, transportation and storage, its direction in chemical applications is limited. At present, carbon dioxide as a chemical raw material is mainly used in the production of urea, silicon dioxide, carbon monoxide, barium carbonate, crystal calcium carbonate and so on.

Second, the application of carbon dioxide in new chemical materials

Carbon dioxide as a raw material for new chemical materials is a more economical way, and it is also one of the focuses of enterprise research. According to the survey, carbon dioxide can be used as the main raw material for dimethyl carbonate, vinyl carbonate, propylene carbonate and other products in the field of new materials.

Among them, dimethyl carbonate is based on propylene oxide, methanol, carbon dioxide as raw materials, and can be used downstream in the production of lithium battery electrolyte solvents, polycarbonate, methyl ethyl carbonate and other carbonate esters. In recent years, the new energy industry has developed rapidly, and the production of carbonates with carbon dioxide as raw materials has received high attention. On the one hand, the development of new energy is driven by its consumption demand, and on the other hand, it can consume the carbon dioxide produced by the chemical industry chain of enterprises, and achieve the supporting and carbon reduction development of the industrial chain.

Polyether ketone ester products (such as polyether ketone, etc.) can also be produced using carbon dioxide, which is currently a more advanced production method. Polyether ketone is prepared by co-polymerization of carbon dioxide and alkenyl ether, which can be applied in high temperature resistant structural materials, special coatings, wear-resistant materials and electrical insulation materials.

Carbon dioxide can be copolymerized with epoxides to produce polyether ester polyols. Polyether carbonate polyols, also known as CO2-based polyols, are a class of oligomer polyols with hydroxyl end and polyether chain segments in the main chain. Polyether ester polyols can be used in polyurethane materials with hydrolysis resistance and acid resistance, instead of polycarbonate diol (PCDL), polycaprolactone diol (PCL), polytetrahydrofuran diol (PTMG), etc., the application field is very wide.

Carbon dioxide can also be used to produce biodegradable plastics such as polypropylidene carbonate and polyethyl carbonate, which are used in the fields of disposable lunch boxes, plastic wrap and mulch. Among them, polypropylidene carbonate is polymerized by carbon dioxide and propylene oxide, and polyethyl carbonate is polymerized by carbon dioxide and ethylene oxide. At present, China has realized the industrialization of polypropyl carbonate and is the world's largest producer.

Third, the application of carbon dioxide in large-scale chemical production

Large-scale chemical production with carbon dioxide as raw materials, the consumption of carbon dioxide is huge, and it is also the direction of the current industry focus. This way of utilization can effectively consume the by-product carbon dioxide in the production process of the integrated enterprise and improve the competitiveness of the project.

For example, carbon dioxide can be used as a carbon source supplement in the coal chemical industry, used in coal to olefin, coal to aromatics, coal to ethylene glycol, coal to oil and downstream chemicals. In the production process of coal-to-olefin, its own integration project produces carbon dioxide as a supplementary raw material for syngas, produces ethylene and propylene, and then relies on olefin raw materials to achieve downstream extension of the industrial chain to EVA, polyethylene, etc.

Fourth, the application of carbon dioxide in other chemical synthesis fields

With the progress and development of chemical technology, the chemical synthesis of carbon dioxide as a raw material is gradually expanding the application field and product range.

Using carbon dioxide as raw material, ethanol, acetic acid, MDI, acrylate, long chain dibasic acid can be synthesized. These areas have already been industrialised and are gradually growing in scale. The downstream of ethanol is mainly used as industrial raw materials, and the downstream of acetic acid is mainly used to produce acetic anhydride, acetic ester and cellulose acetate. Polyvinyl acetate can be made into films and adhesives, and is also a raw material for synthetic fiber Vinylon, cellulose acetate can be made into rayon and motion picture film.

The new chemical production with carbon dioxide as raw material, the representative products are: polyhydroxyaliphatic acid, 1, 3-propylene glycol, adipic acid, polylactic acid, lysine, butanol, succinic acid, caprolactam, ethyl acetate and so on. These products have been achieved bio-based chemical production, carbon dioxide can be used as an intermediate raw material.

With the development of the industry, the application of carbon dioxide in the chemical industry has gradually increased, the production scale has been expanding, and the production cost of some processes has also been gradually reduced, slowly replacing other chemical production methods. In the future, in some subsectors, the net zero emission of carbon dioxide in the integrated production process can be achieved through the resource utilization of carbon dioxide, which will help accelerate the realization of the dual-carbon goal.