A Brief Review of Carbon Dioxide Hydrogenation to Methanol Over Copper and Iron Based Catalysts

Climate change and global warming have become a challenging issue affecting not only humanity but also flora and fauna due to an intense increase of CO 2 emission in the atmosphere which has gradually led to amplification in the average global temperature. Hence, a number of mechanisms have been promoted to diminish the atmospheric commutation of carbon dioxide. One of the well-known techniques is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) which mechanism is based on capture and storage vast quantities of CO 2 , as well as Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) which mechanism is based on CO 2 conversion to liquid fuels ( e.g. methanol, hydrocarbons, dimethyl carbonate, propylene, dimethyl ether, ethylene, etc.). Particularly, methanol (CH 3 OH) is a key feedstock for industrial chemicals, which further can be converted into high molecular alternative liquid fuels. In this regard, hydrogenation of CO 2 is one of the promising, effectual and economic techniques for utilization of CO 2 emission. Nevertheless, the reduction/activation of CO 2 into useful liquid products is a scientifically challenging issue due to the complexities associated with its high stability. Thus, various catalysts have been applied to reduce the activation energy of the hydrogenation process and transform CO 2 into value-added products. Thereby, this review article highlights the progress and the recent advances of research investigation in Cu and Fe-based catalytic conversion of CO 2 , reaction mechanisms, catalytic reactivity, and influence of operating parameters on product efficiency.