The utilization of fossil fuels has enabled an unprecedented era of prosperity and advancement of well-being for human society. However, the associated increase in anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO) emissions can negatively affect global temperatures and ocean acidity. Moreover, fossil fuels are a limited resource and their depletion will ultimately force one to seek alternative carbon sources to maintain a sustainable economy. Converting CO into value-added chemicals and fuels, using renewable energy, is one of the promising approaches in this regard. Major advances in energy-efficient CO conversion can potentially alleviate CO emissions, reduce the dependence on nonrenewable resources, and minimize the environmental impacts from the portions of fossil fuels displaced. Methanol (CHOH) is an important chemical feedstock and can be used as a fuel for internal combustion engines and fuel cells, as well as a platform molecule for the production of chemicals and fuels. As one of the promising approaches, thermocatalytic CO hydrogenation to CHOH via heterogeneous catalysis has attracted great attention in the past decades. Major progress has been made in the development of various catalysts including metals, metal oxides, and intermetallic compounds. In addition, efforts are also put forth to define catalyst structures in nanoscale by taking advantage of nanostructured materials, which enables the tuning of the catalyst composition and modulation of surface structures and potentially endows more promising catalytic performance in comparison to the bulk materials prepared by traditional methods. Despite these achievements, significant challenges still exist in developing robust catalysts with good catalytic performance and long-term stability. In this review, we will provide a comprehensive overview of the recent advances in this area, especially focusing on structure-activity relationship, as well as the importance of combining catalytic measurements, in situ characterization, and theoretical studies in understanding reaction mechanisms and identifying key descriptors for designing improved catalysts.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.9b00723 | DOI Listing |
Int J Environ Res Public Health
January 2025
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
The rapid growth of unconventional natural gas development (UNGD), also known as hydraulic fracturing, has raised concerns of potential exposures to hazardous chemicals. Few studies have examined the risk of childhood cancer from exposure to UNGD. A case-control study included 498 children diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, central nervous system neoplasms, and malignant bone tumors during the period 2010-2019 identified through the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
December 2024
Institute of Integrated Atmospheric Environment, 1-2-8 Koraku, Bunkyo, Tokyo 112-0004, Japan.
Concerns regarding the health risks associated with employe exposure to volatile chemicals during gasoline refueling necessitates rigorous investigation and effective countermeasures. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of vapor recovery systems in mitigating exposure risks during gasoline refueling. Employee exposure to volatile organic compounds, aldehydes, carbon monoxide, and fine particulate matter (PM) was assessed at gasoline stations with and without vapor recovery systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSheng Wu Gong Cheng Xue Bao
January 2025
College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China.
In China, the crude oil supply is highly dependent on overseas countries, and thus strengthening crude oil self-sufficiency has become an important issue of the national energy security. Tertiary oil recovery, especially polymer flooding, has been widely applied in large oil fields in China, which can increase the recovery rate by 15%-20% compared with water flooding. However, the widely used oil flooding polymers show poor thermal stability and salinity tolerance, complicated synthesis ways of monomers, and environmental unfriendliness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
January 2025
Key Laboratory for Power Machinery and Engineering of Ministry of Education, Research Center for Renewable Synthetic Fuel, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
Light-driven bioethanol dehydration offers attractive outlooks for the sustainable production of ethylene. Herein, a surface-hydrogenated CrMnO is coupled with GaN nanowires (GaN@CMO-H) for light-driven ethanol dehydration to ethylene. Through combined experimental and computational investigations, a surface hydrogen-replenishment mechanism is proposed to disclose the ethanol dehydration pathway over GaN@CMO-H.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
January 2025
Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.
Ethylene glycol, a widely used chemical, has a large global capacity exceeding 40 million tons per year. Nevertheless, its production is heavily reliant on fossil fuels, resulting in substantial CO emissions. Herein, we report an approach for electrochemically producing ethylene glycol from biomass glycerol.
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