A substantial fraction of the energy produced in the world comes from burning fossil fuels that add carbon dioxide to the environment. There is an emerging consensus that the production of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, is partly responsible for the global climate change. In view of this, there has been a strong interest in reducing and/or slowing carbon dioxide accumulation in the environment. Substantial research is ongoing for sequestering carbon dioxide that includes making and storing stable chlathrate hydrates. On the other hand, there has been a significant interest in producing ethanol as a source of alternative fuel. The processes for the production of alternative fuels also produce carbon dioxide as a byproduct. In this talk, we will present a process that is capable of producing organic compound-based fuels including ethanol in an environmentally benign manner leading to a “green” energy cycle. In this process, ethanol is directly produced by hydrogenation of carbon dioxide with a higher yield than conventional methods. The reaction takes place over a Cu-Zn-Fe-K catalyst at a temperature of about 300 0C. A detailed plant-level flowsheet is simulated to size the equipments and for calculating the economics of the process. The flow sheet considers the off-gas from a coal-based IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) as a source of carbon dioxide. All the major equipments in amine sweetening process including the amine regeneration unit and that of ethanol synthesis are sized. A complete process economic analysis is then performed. Finally, sensitivity studies are carried out based on the different routes for the hydrogen production and the cost of major utilities and raw materials.