Electrochemical Techniques to Convert CO 2 to Specialty
Chemicals
By Ahmed Halilu , Rozita Yusoff , Hanee Farzana Hizaddin , Department of Chemical Engineering , Faculty of Engineering , University of Malaya
Mohamed Kheireddine Aroua Centre for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Utilisation School of Engineering and Technology , Sunway University
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Maan Hayyan Faculty of Engineering & Technology Muscat University , Sultanate of Oman
The global CO2 emission level amounts to around 420ppm , a consequence of high fossil-based energy demands by the transportation , industrial , and commercial sectors . High amounts of CO 2 in our environment is evidently causing irreversible climate change . 1 Currently , due to high CO 2 levels , the global temperature is rising , owing to CO 2 heating effects . Rising global temperatures cause the melting of icebergs which eventually increases global sea levels . Accordingly , the world is dealing with climate change in terms of recurring floods due to rising sea levels . Drought caused by rising global ambient temperatures is another challenge caused by high CO 2 effects .
Currently , there is progress towards unravelling climate change issues through combined CO 2 capture and conversion technique . Prominent
CO 2 capture technologies includes membrane technology which is limited by selectivity issues and is also impossible to capture up to 90 %
CO 2 irrespective of the membrane that is used . Carbon dioxide conversion to methanol
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