Ethanol From Carbon Dioxide: German scientists have found a way to make ethanol from carbon dioxide (CO2) using cobalt and copper. This method has also proved effective in the lab. Through this, carbon dioxide released from the atmosphere and industrial processes can be used. However, obtaining that carbon is still a difficult task. The research team has published its discovery in ACS Catalysis.
According to Professor Karsten Streb, a chemist and co-author of the study at Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany, ‘We can remove the greenhouse gas CO2 from the environment and reincorporate it into a sustainable carbon cycle.’ Scientists worldwide are working on several technologies to convert carbon dioxide into chemicals useful to us by reacting it with other substances.
Ethanol can be used as a feedstock or fuel for other chemicals. Using it as a fuel would send CO2 back into the atmosphere, making the process circular rather than carbon-negative.
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The combination of copper and cobalt did wonders:
Copper has shown its potential as a catalyst that reacts with CO2. It is much cheaper and more accessible than other catalysts such as palladium or platinum. The researchers developed an electrode that was covered with a powder made from a very fine mixture of cobalt and copper. They used electron microscopy to ensure that the surface was properly formed.
Streb said, ‘The initial challenge is to get the carbon dioxide to react. The bonds between the atoms of the molecule are very strong, but cobalt can break them.’ This creates carbon monoxide, which copper then converts into ethanol.
The researchers tested their material in an atmosphere filled with CO2. The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is very low (about 420 parts per million). Scientists showed that in this environment, they were able to convert 80% of the carbon dioxide into Ethanol.
