Overline: Publication
Headline: New Book Explains Basics of CO2 Utilisation Technologies

While CO2 is one of the main causes of climate change, it also contains the carbon that we urgently need in everyday life, for example for plastics, shampoo and fuel. An IASS research project has produced the book “CO2-Nutzung für dummies” (“CO2 utilisation for dummies”) to familiarise readers with the basics of CO2 recycling.

Carbon dioxide – a greenhouse gas emitted, for instance, in oil refineries – can be used as a raw material in industry.
Carbon dioxide – a greenhouse gas emitted, for instance, in oil refineries – can be used as a raw material in industry. Shutterstock/industryviews

CO2 utilisation technologies replace the carbon needed in conventional production processes, usually from fossil resources, with the carbon contained in CO2. For example, in chemical conversion processes, CO2 can be used to produce synthetic fuels or base chemicals for industries and the construction sector. The captured CO2 can come from various sources, including industrial flue gases. These technologies are also called Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU).

The book gives an overview of what we know now, what we don’t know yet, and the issues we should consider when discussing the potentials and limits of CO2 utilisation. It also discusses the funding measure “CO2 as a sustainable source of carbon - Pathways to industrial application (CO2-WIN)” of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The PDF version of the book can be downloaded here free of charge until July 2023.

Book and rally at ACHEMA

Print copies of the book will be distributed at the BMBF booth at the ACHEMA in Frankfurt am Main. There, from August 22 to 26, 2022, manufacturers and service providers from over 50 countries will present products for chemistry, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, energy and the environment. For the event, the researchers of the project CO2-WIN have prepared a science rally on the topic of CO2 utilisation for pupils, students and other interested parties. You can find more information here (in German).

Olfe-Kräutlein, B. (2022): CO2-Nutzung für Dummies, (.. für Dummies), Weinheim : Wiley, 90 p.
https://publications.iass-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_6001842

 

Dummies Cover