Progress in reaction mechanisms and catalyst development of carbon dioxide methanation

The overuse of fossil fuels has created a dual challenge for humanity, namely energy and environmental concerns. Excessive carbon emissions have resulted in a range of global climate issues. It's of great practical significance to capture the excessive carbon dioxide emissions and convert them into high value-added chemicals or fuels. Methane is an important carrier for chemical bond energy storage due to its high mass calorific value. Carbon dioxide methanation is a promising process for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. This review introduces recent research progress on carbon dioxide methanation using thermal catalytic, bioconversion, photocatalytic, and electrocatalytic technologies. A dual-function integrated design integrating carbon dioxide capture and methanation is proposed, which not only realizes on-site capture and utilization, but also improves the manufacturability and economic benefits of the entire process.