CO₂ utilization for methanol production: a review on the safety concerns and countermeasures

The catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide is one of the important ways to achieve the goal of carbon neutralization, which can be further divided into electrocatalysis, thermal catalysis, and photocatalysis. Although photocatalysis and electrocatalysis have the advantages of mild reaction conditions and low energy consumption, the thermal catalytic conversion of CO₂ has larger processing capacity, better reduction effect, and more complete industrial foundation, which is a promising technology in the future. During the development of new technology from laboratory to industrial application, ensuring the safety of production process is essential. In this work, safety optimization design of equipment, safety performance of catalysts, accident types, and their countermeasures in the industrial applications of CO₂ to methanol are reviewed and discussed in depth. Based on that, future research demands for industrial process safety of CO₂ to methanol were proposed, which provide guidance for the large-scale application of CO₂ thermal catalytic conversion technology.