Carbon dioxide methanation on heterogeneous catalysts: a review

The Ukraine war has strongly accentuated the ongoing energy and environmental issues, thus requiring a fast development of alternative and more local fuels. For instance, recent research has focused on the catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide into methane. Here we review carbon dioxide methanation with dihydrogen, reaction conditions, catalyst properties, and preparation methods. Carbon dioxide conversion and methane selectivity can reach 90% and above by increasing temperature from 250 to 400 °C, regardless of catalyst types. Methane yields can reach up to 96% by increasing dihydrogen to carbon dioxide feed ratios from 2:1 to 4:1. We discuss issues of sintering, fouling, and poisoning that lead to the deactivation of catalysts.