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Schematic illustration showing how the liquid metal is used as a catalyst to convert carbon dioxide to solid coal. Credit: RMIT University
Researchers used liquid metals to turn carbon dioxide into solid coal, a world first that could transform our approach to carbon capture and storage.
The research team led by RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, has developed a new technique that can efficiently convert CO2 from a gas into solid carbon particles.
Posted in the journal Nature Communications, research offers an alternative way to safely and permanently eliminate greenhouse gases from our atmosphere.
Current carbon capture and storage technologies focus on the compression of CO2 into a liquid, its transport to an appropriate site and its underground injection.
But implementation has been hampered by technical problems, economic viability issues and environmental concerns about potential leakage from storage sites.
Dr. Torben Daeneke, a researcher at RMIT, said that converting CO2 to solid could be a more sustainable approach.
"Although we can not literally go back in time, converting carbon dioxide back into coal and burying it in the ground is like rewinding the clock on emissions," Daeneke said. , DECRA member of the Australian Council for Research.
"Until now, CO2 has only been converted to a solid at extremely high temperatures, making it unviable on an industrial scale.
"By using liquid metals as a catalyst, we have shown that it is possible to reconvert the gas to carbon at room temperature, according to an efficient and scalable process.
"While it is necessary to continue research, it is a crucial first step in ensuring solid carbon storage."
How does carbon conversion work?
Lead author Dorna Esrafilzadeh, a researcher for the position of Vice-Chancellor at RMIT's Faculty of Engineering, developed the electrochemical technique to capture and convert atmospheric CO2 into a storable solid carbon.
To convert CO2, the researchers designed a liquid metal catalyst with specific surface properties that made it extremely efficient in driving electricity while chemically activating the surface.
The carbon dioxide is dissolved in a beaker containing an electrolytic liquid and a small amount of liquid metal, which is then charged with an electric current.
CO2 slowly transforms into solid carbon flakes, which naturally separate from the surface of the liquid metal, allowing the continuous production of carbonaceous solids.
Esrafilzadeh said the carbon produced could also be used as an electrode.
"One of the benefits of the process is that carbon can hold an electrical charge and become a supercapacitor, so that it could possibly be used as a component in future vehicles."
"The process also produces synthetic fuel as a by-product, which could also have industrial applications."
The research was conducted at the MicroNano Research Center and at RMIT's Microscopy and Microanalysis Center, with Principal Investigator, Honorary Professor RMIT, and ARC Laureate Professor Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh (now UNSW).
The research is funded by the Australian Center of the Council for Research on Future Low Energy Electronic Technologies (FLEET) and the ARC Center of Excellence for Electrical Materials Science (ACES).
Researchers from Germany (University of Munster), China (Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics), United States (North Carolina State University) and Australia (UNSW, University of Wollongong, Monash University, QUT) participated in the collaboration.
The article is published in Nature Communications ("CO2 reduction at ambient temperature in solid carbon species on liquid metals with atomically thin ceria interfaces", DOI: 10.1038 / s41467-019-08824-8).
Explore further:
Better understanding of the revolutionary 2D liquid metal technique
More information:
CO2 reduction at room temperature in solid carbon species on liquid metals with atomically thin ceria interfaces, Nature Communications (2019). DOI: 10.1038 / s41467-019-08824-8, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-08824-8
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