A recent groundbreaking study suggests that carbon emissions, the raison d’etre of global warming and air pollution, can be converted into usable energy. By eliminating the carbon dioxide component from fossil fuel emissions, the system developed at South Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology can produce hydrogen and electrical energy from spontaneous Carbon Dixoide (CO2) dissolution in aqueous solution.
In simple terms, the system can continuously produce clean energy by dissolving CO2.
Efficient and clean
A team of researchers created a hybrid Na-CO2 cell to carry out efficient and continuous carbon dioxide conversion. According to the study, published in the journal , this cell is able to conduct operation for over 1,000 hours without any damage to electrodes.
Although carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration technologies have previously attempted to utilize the green-house gas as an energy resource, the low-efficiency conversion rate and high energy requirements have failed to deliver a comprehensive solution so far. With the Na-CO2 cell, the team recorded a conversion efficiency as high as 50%.
In addition, this system has the advantage of not regenerating CO2 during the process, unlike aprotic metal-CO2 cells.
Origin and impact
Originating from the principle that most human carbon dioxide emissions dissolve in the oceans to precipitate later as acid rain, the latest study similarly attempted to melt CO2 into to induce an electrochemical reaction. With increase in acidity, the number of protons also increases, which in turn increases the power to attract electrons. The scientists then took it forward to create a battery system based on this phenomenon, that produces electricity by removing the carbon content.
“The key to that technology is the easy conversion of chemically stable CO2 molecules to other materials. Our new system has solved this problem with
CO2 dissolution mechanism,” Professor Guntae Kim from the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST was reported as saying by IANS news agency.
“This hybrid Na-CO2 cell not only CO2 as the resource for generating electrical energy but also produces the clean energy source, hydrogen,” said co-author of the study Jeongwon Kim.
At a time when carbon emissions are one of the biggest concerns among global leaders deliberating on how to offset climate change, concepts like this can give the mission a timely edge. This can be a valuable addition to the efforts being taken around the world to reduce our carbon footprint, including carbon dioxide-scrubbing plants to the contentious carbon taxes..
Prarthana Mitra is a staff writer at Qrius