Accidental greenhouse gas to fuel process discovered

Scientists have accidentally discovered a way to convert carbon dioxide solution to ethanol.

Using a catalyst made of carbon, copper and nitrogen, researchers applied voltage to effectively reverse the combustion process, with the solution also producing carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane as by-products. Scientists were surprised that ethanol was produced in only one step

Professor Adam Rondinone, lead author and nanomaterials chemist from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US, said: “We discovered somewhat by accident that this material worked. We were trying to study the first step of a proposed reaction when we realised that the catalyst was doing the entire reaction on its own.”

As the catalyst contained multiple reaction sites, it was able to provide an ethanol yield of 63%. The catalyst consists of copper nanoparticles embedded in carbon spikes – avoiding the use of rare and expensive metals such as platinum. Rondinone said: “They are like 50-nanometer lightning rods that concentrate electrochemical reactivity at the tip of the spike.”

As this was achieved at room temperature in water, with the use of low-cost materials, researchers believe the approach could be scaled up for a number of different industrial applications. Rondinone said: “A process like this would allow you to consume extra electricity when it’s available to make and store as ethanol. This could help to balance a grid supplied by intermittent renewable sources.”

The researchers plan to refine this technique to improve the overall production rate and further analyse the catalyst’s properties. The research was published in ChemistrySelect.