Chemical Methanation of CO2: A Review

• Published in: ChemBioEng reviews Vol. 3; no. 6; pp. 266 - 275
• Main Authors: Ghaib, Karim, Nitz, Korbinian, Ben-Fares, Fatima-Zahrae
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim WILEY-VCH Verlag 01-12-2016; WILEY‐VCH Verlag
• Subjects: Catalysts; CO2 methanation; Kinetics; Reactors; Synthetic natural gas
• ISSN: 2196-9744; 2196-9744
• DOI: 10.1002/cben.201600022

The chemical methanation of CO2 may become a ubiquitous process for the production of renewable substitute natural gas from any CO2 source coupled with renewable hydrogen. The produced gas can be fed into the natural gas pipeline or used as fuel. Over the past few years, great efforts have been made in developing the process of CO2 methanation. In this paper, the chemical methanation, which is the most common process, is reviewed. The purpose is to present a comprehensive updated review of the process. The CO2 methanation, covering the process mechanisms, thermodynamics, catalysts, kinetics, and reactors are discussed with the aim to outline the pathways for the future development of the methanation process.
Power‐to‐Methane is a process that can store large amounts of electrical energy for a long time period. An essential part of the process chain is the catalytic methanation of CO2. This paper reviews and discusses the process mechanisms, thermodynamics, catalysts, and kinetics as well as the reactors to outline the recent developments and technical problems of the methanation process.