CCU - Carbon capture and use The use of CO2 as a feedstock

In the previous issue of Chimica Oggi / Chemistry TODAY I discussed the option to use non-food, lignocellulosic biomass feedstock such as forestry waste (wood), grasses and straw, corn or wheat stover and bagasse (sugar cane residue) the so called second generation (2G) biomass feedstocks. One of the most important goals of 2G refining, to fractionate lignocellulose into mixed sugars, glucose and lignin (“cascading”) was discussed.

In this issue of Chimica Oggi/Chemistry Today I will talk about the use of CO₂ as a chemical feedstock. This is often referred to as Carbon-Capture and Use (CCU) as alternative for pumping CO₂ underground in Carbon-Capture and Storage (CCS).