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Innovative technology achieves 93% efficiency in converting CO2 to chemicals
Chinese scientists at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in Wuhan have discovered a reliable method to put carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere into useful chemical products, which researchers call a “milestone” victory, the South China Morning Post reported.
As the world seeks to wipe up the planet’s warming carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere, several perspectives are being tested in laboratories where the gas can be turned into valuable products like methanol, ethanol, alkanes, or olefins. However, the view like this conversion systems has a serious drawback. They can only function up to hundred hours, making them less significant for large-scale works.
Why conversion systems lasts for a short period time?
Researchers use electrochemical ways in these type of conversion systems, where an electric charge is applied to convert a chemical’s properties. For example, the procedure includes breaking the chemical bonds between carbon dioxide molecules and joining elements like hydrogen to the mix to generate hydrocarbons like ethanols or formic acid.
The process is done along with an electrolyte where scientists have conventionally an alkaline feedstock. However, the process creates unwanted by-products, like carbonates, that join themselves to the tool, decreasing efficiency. This has limited the lab equipment’s lifetime to a few hundred hours.
The scientists at HUST joined up with those from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. It took past five years of the researchers looking for a viable solution to this issue. Their attempts yielded conclusions when they discovered an electrolyte that could direct the systems for at least 5,000 hours, longer than any famous perspective till now, making a remarkable milestone. When verified, efficiency of the system was recorded at 93 percent.
Using lead-acid batteries
Interestingly, the electrolytes used by the scientists came from spent lead acid batteries that were already seeking for a protective technique for their disposal. Used extensively in the automotive, energy, and military sectors, lead-acid batteries are a mature technology but are unsuccessful to work out easy procedures for their disposal.
Spent lead-acid batteries must be incinerated first before lead ions can be taken out. While lead is a toxic heavy metal, it is also very helpful in transforming CO2. The scientists were seeking to utilize the acidic environments of the batteries to carry out their electrochemical processes. Still, they spotted that the process was unstable in the environment and corroded the catalysts used.
The scientists then made an appropriable catalyst that was less corrosion-resistant and could accelerate the chemical reactions. The growth of such a system permits spent lead acid batteries to be used more effectively.
In their demonstration, the study team made formic acid using carbon dioxide. The chemical has multiple applications in the agricultural sector but can also be used in fuel cells in the future. With further study, the team is confident that it will be able to generate products such as ethylene, referred to as the world’s most significant chemical, as it has applications in the textile, automobile, and printing industries.
