Scientists have developed new processes that can efficiently collect carbon dioxide and convert it into fuel
CTOnews.com, Nov. 2 (Xinhua)-- scientists are actively exploring ways to extract carbon dioxide from the air or power plant exhaust and turn it into something useful. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University have developed a new and efficient process that converts carbon dioxide into formates, which can be used to power fuel cells like hydrogen or methanol.
Formate is a liquid or solid material, which has been industrially produced and is mainly used as a deicing agent for roads and sidewalks. It is non-toxic, non-flammable, easy to store and transport, and can be stored in ordinary steel tanks for months or even years after production, and can remain stable.
The new process, published this week in Cell report physical Science (Cell Reports Physical Science), involves capturing the gas, electrochemically converting it into solid formate powder, and then using it to generate electricity in fuel cells, which has been successfully tested in small-scale laboratories.
Ju Li, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said that the current method of converting carbon dioxide into fuel usually involves two stages: the first stage is to chemically capture the gas and convert it into solids such as calcium carbonate, and the second stage is to heat the material and convert it into fuel raw material.
The second stage is usually inefficient, with less than 20% of gaseous carbon dioxide converted into the required products. The latest process can achieve a conversion rate of up to 90%.
And carbon dioxide needs to be converted to an intermediate form (liquid metal bicarbonate), eliminating the need for inefficient heating steps.
The liquid is then put into an electrolytic cell and electrochemically converted to liquid potassium or sodium formate using low-carbon electricity (such as nuclear, wind or solar energy). Li said that high concentrations of liquid potassium or sodium formate solutions can be dried, such as evaporated by solar energy, to produce highly stable solid powders and can be stored in ordinary steel tanks for years or even decades.
CTOnews.com attached the address of the reference paper: "A carbon-efficient bicarbonate electrolyzer" Published:October 30, 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2023.101662.
