Process for Converting Carbon Dioxide to Graphite Using Active Metal Liquid and Its Application for Green Hydrogen Production Adopting Zero Waste Discharge Strategy

<jats:p>About 60% of global warming effects are attributed to carbon dioxide emission. The global carbon dioxide discharge is over 38 billion tons per year, primarily from burning fossil fuels. Any methods for carbon dioxide removal could not be a thorough and feasible approach if carbon dioxide is not converted to a stable and valuable substance. To deal with the enormous amount of discharged carbon dioxide, we present a new process to split carbon dioxide and convert it to graphite, i.e., to utterly stop carbon recirculation in the form of CO₂ in the environment, using active metal liquid such as liquid magnesium, where the metal can be recycled within the system via metallurgy approach. As the graphite produced is a critical mineral and material with extensive applications, e.g., as raw material of graphene and diamond production, the economical viability of this CO₂ reduction technology can be highly secured. From current knowledge, this is one of the most efficient and practical technology for carbon dioxide removal with zero waste discharge. Combined with this carbon dioxide conversion method, the steam-methane-reforming (SMR) process, which accounts for 95% hydrogen production, could become a greener or totally green hydrogen production technology if clean energy is employed to maintain and initiate the processes involved. The entire process is commercializable for hydrogen production, carbon dioxide reduction, and graphite production with the combination of chemical engineering and metallurgy technologies. There are no technological barriers for the presented process as all the chemical engineering and metallurgy sub-processes involved are proven and feasible. If hydrogen is adopted as the major fuel in the future, the problems arisen from carbon dioxide emission could be largely solved.</jats:p>