(474f) Economically Viable CO2 Electroreduction: Retrofit Technology for Chemical Manufacturing

Use of carbon dioxide (CO₂) as a chemical feedstock for bulk products would facilitate the transition to a carbon-neutral economy. While electrocatalytic methods for converting CO₂ into commodity chemicals have been discovered, their technical limitations, the high costs of CO₂ capture and required logistics make them uncompetitive with petrochemical-based manufacturing. Instead, we demonstrate that integrating CO2R as a means to recycle waste CO₂ and regenerate feedstocks is both technically feasible and profitable in the current market. As a specific use case, integration of CO2R with copper catalysts into ethylene oxide production will simultaneously reduce operational costs and up to 80% of direct CO₂ emissions. Based on our analysis of chemical manufacturing processes suitable for this type of CO2R retrofit, the approach has the potential to become a widely adapted and transformative decarbonization method across different industries, such as e.g. ammonia, synthetic fuels, cement and steel production.