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Current status and future prospect of CO₂ to ethanol: a review

Diksha Kumari¹, Kusam¹, Shivani Sahu¹

¹Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan, 304022 India.

|November 24, 2025

Abstract:

The escalation of atmospheric CO₂ caused by human activities calls for the creation of novel approaches for carbon capture and utilization. A viable strategy to slow down climate change and support the circular carbon economy is to convert CO₂ into ethanol, a valuable biofuel. The present state of CO₂ to ethanol conversion technology is thoroughly reviewed in this paper, with an emphasis on developments in catalytic, electrochemical, and hydrogenation processes. With the development of innovative electrodes and electrolytes, electrochemical techniques utilizing renewable energy have advanced, now offering a viable route for reducing CO₂. This review presents the latest developments in CO₂-to-ethanol conversion. It evaluates the technical and financial viability of current processes by considering efficiency, cost, and scalability, while also addressing key challenges and outlining potential future directions for advancing clean ethanol fuel production. Overall, electrochemical, thermocatalytic, and bio-electrocatalytic pathways show strong promise, but their success depends on breakthroughs in catalyst design, process optimization, and sustainable implementation to enable large-scale deployment.

Keywords:

Biofuels Carbon dioxide (CO2)Carbon monoxide (CO)Ethanol Renewable energy

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