4 ms·
Researchers accidentally turn carbon dioxide into ethanol
- carapace 10y agoIf I understand this correctly this is huge. > "When exposed to carbon dioxide and a small electrical charge, this catalyst sets off an complex chain reaction that essentially reverses the combustion process and converts the gas into liquid ethanol. What's more, because the catalyst is so small, there is virtually no side reactions so the ethanol is quite pure. I mean, you wouldn't want to make a martini with it but it can go straight into a generator and work. Plus, the entire reaction works at room temperature." (sic)
- tsomctl 10y agoDepends on what the efficiency is, and how hard it is to manufacture the catalyst. The catalyst is made of carbon, copper, and nitrogen, so it there won't be a problem of needing exotic materials. It would be even more impressive if you could run it in reverse, to generate electricity. The actual paper states the efficiency is 63%, so this combined with solar panels is more efficient than growing corn. Original press release: https://www.ornl.gov/news/nano-spike-catalysts-convert-carbon-dioxide-directly-ethanol https://www.ornl.gov/news/nano-spike-catalysts-convert-carbo... The paper itself: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/slct.201601169/full http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/slct.201601169/fu...