Continuous-flow hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to pure formic acid using an Integrated scCO₂ process with immobilized catalyst and base

Dual role for CO2: Pure formic acid can be obtained continuously by hydrogenation of CO2 in a single processing unit (see scheme). An immobilized ruthenium organometallic catalyst and a nonvolatile base in an ionic liquid (IL) are combined with supercritical CO2 as both reactant and extractive phase.