PRODUCTION OF LIQUID HYDROCARBONS FROM CARBON DIOXIDE, IN COMBINATION WITH HYDROGEN OR A HYDROGEN SOURCE

Pathways are disclosed for the production of liquid hydrocarbon products comprising gasoline and/or diesel boiling-range hydrocarbons, and in certain cases renewable products having non-petroleum derived carbon. In representative processes, a gaseous feed mixture comprising CO2 in combination H2 and/or CH4 (or other hydrocarbon source of H2) is converted by reforming and/or reverse water-gas shift (RWGS) reactions, optionally further in combination with Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis and/or cracking. A preferred gaseous feed mixture comprises biogas or otherwise a mixture of CO2 and H2 that is not readily upgraded using conventional processes. Catalysts described herein have a high activity for catalyzing the reforming (including dry reforming) of CH4 and other light hydrocarbons (e.g., those having been produced via FT synthesis and recycled as light ends back to the process) as well as simultaneously catalyzing the RWGS reaction. These attributes allow for flexibility in terms of compositions that may be converted efficiently. Economics of small-scale operations may be improved, if necessary, using an electrically heated reforming reactor in the first or initial reforming stage or RWGS stage.