UT researchers make advances in carbon dioxide reduction technology – The Daily Texan

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Smaller ions in liquids with high saline contents can improve efficiency in the transformation of carbon dioxide into valuable chemicals, UT and University of Copenhagen researchers found in a Jan. 10study.
The process uses electrolytes, or salty liquids conductive to electricity, to cause a reaction that converts the carbon dioxide into useful chemicals and usable transportation fuels. This gives an alternative to carbon capture, a practice in which greenhouse gasses are captured and stored deep underground as a means for reuse or disposal at a later time.
“It’s essentially trying to mimic what plants do in natural photosynthesis,” study lead Joaquin Resasco said. “They take carbon dioxide, water and sunlight sort of as the energy source to make energy-dense molecules. We basically want to do the same thing: take carbon dioxide out of the air and then combine it with water using electricity from renewables to make something useful.”
Similar to photosynthesis, the research team created artificial catalysts that work as enzymes to combine carbon dioxide with water and chemicals to undergo the reaction. Resasco, an assistant professor in the chemical engineering department, said the technology is still in its early stages, with the researchers still determining ways to refine the process.
“Our (ways) are much less sophisticated and less efficient than what nature has made over millions of years,” Resasco said. “Part of the research is based on trying to speed up how to improve the efficiency of these catalysts, but part of it is also just trying to understand some fundamental questions about how they work that could guide us to make better materials.”
Aside from the catalysts, the research also studied the effects of the micro-environment where the chemical reaction is occurring. The team’s findings showed changing specific ions in the electrolyte’s salt can strengthen the electric field and speed up the carbon dioxide’s transformation process.
These advancements and research could help reduce greenhouse gases and carbon capture, which has become asocially “divided” practice among scientists and environmentalists because of its questionable effectiveness in tackling climate change. As some of the research team is looking into the technology’s practicality and economic viability, Resasco said this is still the beginning for this kind of technology with many possibilities.
“We’re kind of at an early stage where there’s a lot of potential technologies that could have an impact,” Resasco said. “Probably the best thing that we can do is drive each one of those technologies forward, and then we’ll see what their applications and impact (are) in the future.”
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