On January 7th, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $15 million grant under the "Carbon Utilization Program" to support the research and development of carbon utilization technologies. The aim is to develop technologies that use CO₂ from electricity or other industrial emissions as raw material for producing value-added products, thereby reducing carbon capture costs and emissions. This funding mainly focuses on three thematic areas:

    Synthesizing High-Value Organic Products: This area will develop new synthetic pathways and catalysts to produce specialty chemicals and polymers, such as organic carbonates, carboxylic acids/esters, aldehydes/ketones, alcohols/ethers, and their derivatives. Envisioned conversion pathways include adding CO₂ to petroleum or natural gas-derived intermediates (such as ethane, propane) and converting it to C₁ intermediates for generating C₂ and value-added compounds.

    Synthesizing Solid Carbon Products and Other Inorganic Materials: This area is concerned with innovative technology development and field testing for utilizing CO₂ to produce solid carbon products, including carbon black, carbon nanotubes, synthetic graphite, and carbon nanofibers.

    Capturing CO₂ for Algae Cultivation: This field of research focuses on using flue gases from fossil fuel combustion to cultivate microalgae or cyanobacteria in ponds or photobioreactors, comprehensively addressing the issues of CO₂ capture, regulation, transportation, and transfer to algae media. Specific topics of interest include: formulation and testing of carbon dioxide solvents compatible with algae growth media; testing of alkali-resistant algae; development and design of gas/liquid or liquid/liquid membrane contactors; development of CO₂ microencapsulation technology; and systems based on solid adsorbents for temporary storage of CO₂ to meet the algae's diurnal or seasonal fluctuating needs.

Reprinted from the Advanced Energy Information Network of the Chinese Academy of Sciences