Companies close to reusing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide

"More than Hot Air"
Chemical & Engineering News

Reusing the major greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO₂) from industrial plants — rather than releasing its warming potential into the environment — is on the verge of becoming a commercial reality. Several large chemical companies in Germany and small start-ups in the U.S. are leading the way, according to an article in Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society.

Alex Scott, C&EN’s senior editor for Europe, points out that German firms are at the forefront thanks partly to an infusion of cash from the government encouraging academic-industrial collaborations to develop CO₂-based processes. Within the next few years, chemical giants including BASF and Bayer expect to roll out new processes to use waste CO₂ to make plastics, additives, fuels and other materials in an energy-efficient and cost-effective way.

The article notes that unlike their established counterparts across the Atlantic, the U.S. pioneers in this burgeoning sector are start-ups. Illinois-based LanzaTech is developing a process to convert CO₂ back into useful chemicals such as acetic acid, an important substance used in industrial processes. Novomer, based in Massachusetts, plans to commercialize its products, including a raw material for plastics, as early as next year.