What Catalysis Can Do for Boosting CO2 Utilization

Carbon dioxide can be used as building block for chemicals and materials or source of carbon for fuels. The former application, if implemented at the correct scale, may boost the sustainability of the chemical industry. The latter is more relevant to the energy sector and requires cheap hydrogen from water or renewables for the hydrogenation of the cumulene. Both applications can, thus, render services to our society even if at different times and intensity. In this chapter, an analysis of possibilities is carried out, considering chemicals that have a market higher or close to 1 Mt/year, highlighting the pros and cons and which aspects (catalyst and process) must be further developed in order to have a successful exploitation of the technology. The integration of catalysis and biotechnology is discussed as a route to the utilization of large volumes of CO2. Letting Nature convert CO2 and using biomass in catalytic processes can be a win–win option in some cases.