shown: Carbon dioxide from industrial processes or even directly from the air can be captured and converted into clean, sustainable fuels using only solar energy.. This has been demonstrated by researchers at the University of Cambridge, who have developed a solar-powered reactor that converts captured CO2 and plastic waste into sustainable fuels and valuable chemicals.
In tests, CO2 was converted to: synthesis gasA key ingredient for sustainable liquid fuels and plastic bottles glycolic acidIt is widely used in the cosmetic industry.
The -big- difference with previous experiments is that: British team took CO2 from “real world” sourcessuch as industrial discharges or the air itself; that is, “out of nowhere”. They have succeeded in capturing, concentrating and converting CO2 into sustainable fuel.
It is true that improvements are still needed before this technology can be used on an industrial scale, but the results, published in the journal ‘Joule’, An important step towards clean fuel production “To stimulate the economy without the need for environmentally damaging oil and gas extraction,” the authors of the experiment note say.
Professor Erwin Reisner’s research group from Yusuf Hamied’s Department of Chemistry has been developing for several years. sustainable net zero carbon fuels inspired by photosynthesis (the process by which plants convert sunlight into food), using artificial leavesconverting CO2 and water into fuel using only solar energy.
To date, these solar-powered experiments have used pure, concentrated CO2 from a cylinder, but the technology needed to be able to actively capture CO2 from industrial processes or directly from the air for practical use.
Decarbonization and defossification
The problem is that CO2 is only one of many types of molecules in the air, so the technical challenge is to make this technology selective enough to convert highly dilute CO2.
“We’re not just dealing with them. decarbonizationbut also defossification: To create a truly circular economy, we need to phase out fossil fuels completely.‘ says Reisner.
“In the medium term, this technology could help reduce carbon emissions by capturing it from industry and turning it into something useful, but ultimately, we need to completely remove fossil fuels from the equation and keep CO2 in the air‘ he points.
Researchers were inspired by this. Carbon capture and storage (CCS), where CO2 is captured, pumped and stored underground.
“CCS is a popular technology among the fossil fuel industry for r.reduce carbon emissions as oil and gas exploration continues‘ says Reisner.
“But instead of capturing and storing carbon, catch and use instead of burying carbon, long-term consequences of unknown CO2 underground, we can do something useful and eliminate fossil fuel use,” he adds.
The researchers adapted their technology to run on combustion gases or directly from air, using only energy from the sun to convert CO2 and plastic into fuel and chemicals.
“Blowing air bubbles through the system containing an alkaline solution, CO2 is selectively captured and other gases in the air such as nitrogen and oxygen are released harmlessly.. This process allows the researchers to concentrate CO2 in the air, which makes their job easier,” explains Cambridge University.
Towards a zero carbon future
The integrated system includes a photocathode and a photoanode and has two chambers: on one side a simple fuel, CO2 solution is captured, which is converted into syngas. Plastics, on the other hand, are converted into useful chemicals using only sunlight.
“The plastic component is an important ‘trick’ for this system,” says Motiar Rahaman, co-author of the study. “Capturing and using CO2 from the air makes chemistry more difficult, but if we add plastic waste they donate electrons to the system, to CO2. The plastic is broken down into glycolic acid, which is commonly used in cosmetics, and CO2 is converted into syngas, a simple fuel,” said Motiar Rahaman, co-author of the study.
“This solar-powered system takes two harmful waste products, plastic and carbon emissions, and turns them into something really useful.Sayan Kar is also one of the authors of the experiment.
“Instead of storing CO2 underground like we do with CCS, we can capture it from the air and produce clean fuel from it,” says Rahaman. “This way, It can pull the fossil fuel industry out of the fuel production process, which can help us avoid climate damage.“, says.
“It’s special that we can effectively take CO2 out of the air and turn it into something useful. It’s satisfying to see that we can do this using just sunlight,” Kar adds.
The scientists are currently working on a desktop demonstration device with improved efficiency and practicality “to highlight the benefits of combining direct air capture with the use of CO2 as a gas.” The road to a zero carbon future‘, details Cambridge University.
Reference report: https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(23)00219-2
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Contact details of the environment department: [email protected]