RAPID AND HIGHLY EFFECTIVE CONVERSION OF BIOMASS AND CO2 INTO CHEMICALS AND FUELS UNDER HYDROTHERMAL CONDITIONS

摘要

A serious global energy crisis and the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) linked to global warming are the result of an imbalance between the slow formation of fossil fuels and its rapid consumption by human activities. To diminish the imbalance, we can learn from the geologic formation of fossil fuels. The term “hydrothermal” has purely geological origins. A hydrothermal reaction is generally defined as a reaction occurring in the presence of an aqueous solvent at high temperature and pressure. Geochemists have found that hydrothermal reactions, which can be recognised as another pathway in the carbon cycle, played an important role in forming petroleum, natural gas and coal from organic wastes. Thus, if humans could simulate the natural phenomena of the formation of fossils, then, it should quickly turn biomass and CO2 into fuels and chemicals. In this paper, some recent advances in our researches on the hydrothermal conversion of biomass and CO2 into chemicals and fuels are reviewed.