CO2, a major greenhouse gas driving climate change, is generated by power plants, transportation, and industrial activities. Existing carbon capture systems isolate CO2 and convert it into useful substances, but they demand significant energy, making them challenging to scale. Addressing this, researchers have devised a more efficient method to convert CO2 into methane using a nickel-based catalyst, significantly reducing energy consumption.
Tomaz Neves-Garcia, the study's lead author and a postdoctoral researcher in chemistry at Ohio State, explained the process: "We are going from a molecule that has low energy and producing from it a fuel that has high energy. What makes this so interesting is that others capture, recover and then convert carbon dioxide in steps, while we save energy by doing these steps simultaneously."
The breakthrough involves the use of nickel atoms on an electrified surface to directly convert carbamate - a captured form of CO2 - into methane. Nickel, an abundant and cost-effective catalyst, proved exceptionally effective for this conversion.
Streamlining the carbon capture and conversion process offers a promising step in developing efficient climate mitigation strategies. Neves-Garcia emphasized, "We need to focus on spending the lowest energy possible for carbon capture and conversion. So instead of performing all the capture and conversion steps independently, we can combine it in a single step, bypassing wasteful energy processes."
The ability to turn CO2 into fuel like methane using renewable energy sources could close the carbon cycle. Methane combustion releases CO2, but capturing and re-converting it into methane creates a renewable energy loop that minimizes contributions to global warming.
This study also marks the first successful demonstration of using electrochemistry to convert carbamate directly into methane. Previously, most efforts produced carbon monoxide, a less energy-dense product. "Methane can be a really interesting product, but the most important thing is that this opens a path to develop more processes to convert captured CO2 into other products," Neves-Garcia said.
Looking ahead, the research team plans to explore additional sustainable methods for carbon capture and conversion. "Everything always goes back to energy, and there's a lot of excitement and effort invested in the future of this field to save more of it," added Neves-Garcia.
Research Report:Integrated Carbon Dioxide Capture by Amines and Conversion to Methane on Single-Atom Nickel Catalysts
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