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For years, technology has existed to synthesize fuels
from carbon dioxide via electrolysis in water. This
process offers a means to recycle sequestered carbon dioxide (reducing
greenhouse gas emissions) and also provides a source of fuel (reducing fossil
fuel dependence). This diagram (Credit: Lenfest Center) shows the cycles
associated with this technology.
Fuels from this process, called artificial photosynthesis,
notably are not derived from food crops and also have the advantage of being producible
on-site via solar collectors or wind turbines, eliminating transportation costs. This diagram (Credit: Dioxide
Materials) compares the process cycles for natural and synthetic CO2
conversion methods.
A number of problems have prevented the technology from
commercialization. A major problem is the method's energy requirements. The
initial reaction, which converts carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide, requires
too much electrical energy, making the overall conversion process require more
energy than the amount stored in the produced fuel.
To reduce energy costs, researchers at the University of
Illinois, led by chemical and biological engineering professor Paul Kenis, used
an approach involving an ionic liquid to co-catalyze the reaction. By
stabilizing the reaction intermediates, the unspecified ionic liquid "lowers
the overpotential for CO2 reduction tremendously," Kenis said.
Lowering overpotential lowers the amount of electricity needed for process, in
this case by a significant amount.
Other hurdles still need to be overcome to make the process
effective on a large scale. The researchers at Illinois will next address throughput,
since the reaction currently is too slow for commercial applications. Regardless,
this research benchmark is one more step towards the utilization of this
technology.
Source: Science
Daily
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Re: Catalyst Overcomes Barrier In Emission-to-Fuel Possibilities
