It is no doubt that there is excess carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere today, with too much carbon dioxide further contributing to global warming compared to the pre-industrial era, but scientists have just come up with a new solution , Dispose of excess carbon dioxide and turn it into plastic in an environmentally friendly way!
Of course, plastics are not environmentally benign materials by themselves, but carbon dioxide can be turned into something useful in this way, while reducing the consumption of fossil fuels used to make plastics, so it is still a good way to control climate change Help
The new method is arguably the most efficient way scientists currently have to convert carbon dioxide into ethylene, which is a fundamental component of widely used polyethylene materials.
At the same time, it will take us one step closer to having a real carbon dioxide-to-plastic conversion system.
Experimental leader Drewa, a researcher from the University of Toronto in Canada, said: 'I think the future world will generally have such a technology that people can take full advantage of the value of waste, which is exciting because we are working to develop New sustainable solutions to meet future energy needs. '
The team used the Canadian Light Source (CLS) facility at the University of Saskatchewan, which involves X-ray spectroscopy and computer modeling techniques to identify key catalysts by analyzing electromagnetic radiation. The new model, developed by senior scientist Tom Righer With the help of the device, researchers can study the shape of the catalyst and its chemical environment in real time.
'This has never been achieved before, and this measurement technique will allow us to explore many chemical processes in depth and analyze how to make improvements.'
With electrification, it is necessary to convert the carbon dioxide into the catalyst needed for other substances.Although many metals can act as a catalyst, at present only copper can help produce ethylene.
Researchers have mastered the necessary technology to maximize ethylene production while minimizing the generation of waste products such as methane.
Drewa said: "Copper can be said to be a magic metal, because it can bring a lot of chemicals, including methane, ethylene and ethanol, but it's a bit harder to control specific products."
Together with certain carbon capture technologies, researchers will be able to cut carbon dioxide in the atmosphere while making plastics environmentally friendly.
The energy needed for the conversion process can be provided by renewable energy sources and the resulting plastic can be recycled later. The process can be fairly clean.
At present, human beings produce more than 100 million tons of polyethylene per year, and at this level there is obviously a huge space for optimization and improvement.
Related research has been published in the academic journal "Nature Catalysts".