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Carbon capture system turns CO2 into electricity and hydrogen fuel

• titojankowski 8y ago
  “the remaining half of the CO2 was recovered from the electrolyte as plain old baking soda“ This means for every C (carbon) molecule we remove, we need one Na (sodium) molecule right?
  • yetihehe 8y ago
    We could use brine from desalination plants for Na, it's really common element. Cl (chloride) could be used for something probably.
    • nanomonkey 8y ago
      The baking soda can be used along with waste water, and the brine from desalination plants to grow spirulina which also captures CO2 and can be used to produce biofuels.
  • jgamman 8y ago
    "A sodium metal anode is placed in an organic electrolyte" - no - you need metallic sodium. this takes energy. you get some of that energy back as electricity and 'stored' in the hydrogen by letting it turn back into an ion and forming some carbonate.
    • woodandsteel 8y ago
      So the key question is what is the energy efficiency, and how does it compare with other carbon capture technologies.
• masonic 8y ago
  You can't create hydrogen from CO2. That's an ugly title. The model adds an electrolyte solution with hydrogen, and it's that hydrogen that is liberated... but the article doesn't acknowledge the depletion of the electrolyte.
• yetihehe 8y ago
  From paper - this rechargeable battery uses sodium and co2 during discharge, creating baking soda and releasing hydrogen (which can be used for anything) from water. You can recharge sodium for anode releasing oxygen and chloride (from saltwater). Also cathode is nonconsumable and doesn't clog with reactants or some other elements which could be in solution (typical problem with similar batteries). So it essentially binds CO2 in baking soda on discharge and doesn't release it on recharge. Perfect for carbon capture. Also it can run continuously, just needs changing anodes occasionally. Recharge can be in another cell or even in some factory.