ABSTRACT
Hydrothermal processes attracts the increase attention for use in organic chemical reactions because high-temperature water (HTW) is an environmentally benign solvent compared to organic solvents and has remarkable properties as a reaction medium. HTW has a lower dielectric constant, fewer and weaker hydrogen bonds, and a higher isothermal compressibility than ambient liquid water. The solubility of most gases in liquid water initially decreases as the temperature increases above ambient temperature, but a minimum solubility is soon reached, after which the gas solubility increases. This chapter presents research shows that in HTW, NaHCO3 is reduced to formate when isopropanol or glycerine is used as a reducing agent. Accordingly, it is likely that industrial applications of CO2 reduction would use abundant alcohol compounds as reducing materials. Biomass is an abundant source of alcohols in the form of carbohydrates and polyols such as cellulose, starch, and glycerine.
