Sustainable Production of Succinic Acid through CO2 Conversion.

Succinic acid is an important industrial platform chemical with broad applications, and its sustainable production has become increasingly critical. Converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into succinic acid through integrated electrothermal catalytic routes offers a promising alternative to fossil-based and biological methods while contributing to carbon mitigation. This paper summarizes emerging pathways that utilize key CO2-electrocatalytic products, including gas-phase (C2H4/CO/H2), liquid-phase (acetic acid/acetate), and gas-liquid-phase (alcohols), as intermediates for thermocatalytic upgrading to succinic acid. By establishing a unified CO2 → intermediate → succinic acid reaction framework and evaluating the feasibility, conditions, and bottlenecks of each pathway. Among the proposed pathways, the C4 route via maleic anhydride shows the highest near-term feasibility, while gas-liquid oxidative carbonylation offers strong integration potential. This work provides guidance for the development of sustainable, scalable CO2-based succinic acid production.