Renewable synthetic fuels: Research progress and development trends

Due to the energy crisis caused by the depletion of traditional fossil fuels, climate changes and environmental damage, people have turned their attention to renewable energy. Although the total use of renewable energy currently accounts for only 11% of global primary energy, it is expected that by 2070, the total utilization proportion of renewable energy will exceed 60%. Renewable synthetic fuels is considered a promising solution to replace fossil fuels and achieve carbon neutrality. In addition, they are widely used in fields such as power, aviation, and transportation. Currently, over 130 countries and regions worldwide have made commitments related to carbon neutrality. CO2 can be converted into fuels such as CO, hydrocarbons, and alcohols through EC, PC, TC and biomass conversion. People are striving to build a net zero carbon emission system, including biomass refinery, clean energy processing, fuel synthesis, recycling and utilization processes, etc. Here gives a review of the research progress of the four pathways in CO2 conversion, mainly based on mechanism, catalytic materials, and reactors. The authors will also provide an evaluation on fuel production in both laboratory and actual production environments.