Utilization of carbon dioxide (CO2) for the production of ethanol

Concentration of co2 is increasing tremendously in earth’s atmosphere which is leading to disastrous impacts like increasing earth’s average temperature,melting of polar ice,rising of sea levels and other climatic effects that will result in massive drought,water shortage,agricultural losses and food shortage. utilizing co2 as a feed stock for various chemicals is an advantageous solution towards this problem. new co2 based fuels is developing an innovative and breakthrough technology providing a revolutionary,cost-effective solution to two global concerns: co2 emissions and diminishing liquid fuel reserves. co2 can be converted to alternate fuel by first reacting it with freshly prepared methyl magnesium bromide,ch3mgbr (grignard’s reagent) and then reducing the resultant product into ethanol (c2h5oh) by using sodium borohydride (nabh4) along with other electrophiles. the process produces 72% product yield. the product formed was characterized by using hplc and ftir techniques. the process can be carried out at mild conditions of temperature and pressure but keeping the moisture content minimum. the described progression will result in lessening of co2 and providing another option for renewable energy source. © 2017 chemical society of pakistan. all rights reserved.