Carbon dioxide capture and utilization in petrochemical industry: potentials and challenges

Abstract

The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is an ever-increasing challenge for production units and power plants in view of the global warming concerns. Carbon dioxide capturing from petrochemical process streams and flares has been recognized as one of the several strategies necessary for mitigating the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. To keep greenhouse gases at manageable levels, large decrease in CO2 emissions through separation and utilization will be required. Furthermore, carbon dioxide emission potential will become an important factor in technology selection when cost of carbon dioxide emissions is set to be included in the processing cost. This article reviews the potential CO2 separation technologies and its recycling via chemical fixation as bulk chemical products in petrochemical industry. Various separation techniques, such as absorption, adsorption, membrane separation and cryogenic, and utilization processes, such as conversion to carbon monoxide, oxidative dehydrogenation, hydrogenation and polymerization are thoroughly discussed. The technological challenges and recent developments and achievements are also presented.