Patent ID: 8138380
Filing Date: 2012-03-20
Classification: C07C,C25B,Y02E,Y02P

Abstract:
1. An environmentally beneficial method of producing methanol by recycling and reductive conversion of any available source of carbon dioxide, which comprises: providing a divided electrochemical cell comprising an anode in a first cell compartment, a metal cathode electrode in a second cell compartment containing an aqueous solution comprising methanol or water, and an anion-conducting membrane in contact with the anode and cathode; recycling carbon dioxide from an existing source into the second cell compartment; electrochemically reducing the recycled carbon dioxide and solution by the cathode in the second cell compartment to produce therein a reaction mixture containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas in a ratio of 1:2 to 1:2.1; obtaining the carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas of the reaction mixture from the second cell compartment; and directly reacting the reaction mixture in the presence of a catalyst to produce methanol in a high yield of at least 60% while also producing oxygen in the first cell compartment at the anode to benefit the environment by reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide.