Understanding methanol dehydration for one-pot formation of green maritime fuel

Moving forward into the environmentally conscious era, an increasing number of everyday chemicals will be sourced from CO2-based feedstocks. Some areas will utilise hydrogen-based technologies for future fuel demand; however, this is currently not feasible for the maritime industry, due to the low energy density per unit volume of hydrogen, and lack of infrastructure. Instead fuels such as dimethyl ether (DME), are needed that can be seamlessly incorporated into existing infrastructure and are more sustainable than existing fossil fuels.[1] We have recently shown proof-of-concept for sustainable DME production (Figure 1), with a one-pot processes from CO2 and H2, through a methanol (MeOH) intermediate, using a Cu and ZnO-decorated SAPO-11 zeotype bifunctional catalyst. In this proposal we will explore the influence of doping Cu and ZnO on SAPO-11 for the dehydration of MeOH to optimise DME production. Uniquely this work will be performed on an activated catalyst, mimicking reaction conditions.