MIT engineers make converting CO2 into useful products more practical
MIT engineers developed a new electrode design that enhances CO2 conversion efficiency, enabling cost-effective production of valuable chemicals like ethylene, with potential for industrial applications and support from Shell.
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MIT engineers have developed a new electrode design that enhances the efficiency of converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable products like ethylene, a key chemical used in plastics and fuels. This advancement addresses the challenge of making CO2 conversion economically viable, which has been a significant hurdle in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The research, published in Nature Communications, focuses on improving the electrochemical process that typically involves a trade-off between electrical conductivity and hydrophobicity in gas diffusion electrodes. The team, led by doctoral student Simon Rufer and professor Kripa Varanasi, incorporated conductive copper wires into a hydrophobic PTFE membrane, allowing for both high conductivity and effective water repulsion. This innovative design was tested on a larger scale than previous lab samples, demonstrating its potential for industrial applications. The researchers found that their method could significantly reduce energy costs and improve product yield by optimizing the electrode's structure. Their findings suggest that this approach can be adapted to various catalysts, making it a versatile solution for scaling up CO2 conversion technologies. The research was supported by Shell through the MIT Energy Initiative, highlighting its relevance to global efforts in carbon management.
- MIT engineers have created a new electrode design to improve CO2 conversion efficiency.
- The design allows for both high conductivity and hydrophobicity, overcoming previous trade-offs.
- The research demonstrates potential for scaling up CO2 conversion processes for industrial use.
- The findings could lead to more cost-effective production of valuable chemicals like ethylene.
- The project was supported by Shell, emphasizing its significance in carbon management initiatives.
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23 commentsIn fact, it is, so long as it's under enough pressure, and in the right place. In Montezuma County, Colorado, sits the McElmo dome, an ancient underground CO2 well. They pump it out, down a 500 mile pipeline, to Denver City, Texas, where it gooses oil wells into pumping more crude out. Other than making more oil and making it cheaper, not really much in terms of greenhouse gas contributions- the CO2 starts underground and ends up underground.
Kinder Morgan won't just let you back up your truck and buy some (it's already spoken for), and even if they would, they'd expect you to pay a pretty penny for what we widely consider to be waste gas.
I think MIT is doing some good work. Just wanted everyone to be mindful of the massive scale under which CO2 is already getting bought and sold.
That is, renewables are now the cheapest form of energy by a significant margin, but they are unreliable with respect to timing, so a storage solution is necessary in order to provide electricity on cloudy days when the wind isn't blowing, at night, etc. Most of the research I've seen into solving the storage issue involves batteries or things like pumped hydro. If things like solar and wind were "overbuilt", could a solution like this be used to create hydrocarbons when there is excess electricity? Power prices already go negative in some places when it's particularly sunny/windy. If the excess energy at that time could be used to make gas that could then be utilized by gas plants, well then there is your net 0 storage solution.
I'm assuming solutions like this are uneconomic (and similarly with hydrogen plants, e.g. by using the excess renewable energy to generate green hydrogen by electrolysis for storage and later use), but I'd like to understand better why.
The novelty of the underlying paper notwithstanding, a quick scholar search for "gas diffusion electrodes ptfe copper" will show that this is hardly an unexplored space.
She planted a garden.
I was thinking about that the other day, how our beautiful trees, flowers, and bushes draw a few minerals from the soil, but are really mainly knitted together from the components of water and CO2.
Yes, yes, I know, planting more trees won't do much about the greenhouse gas problem at scale, but the only thing that will are the three P's: powerdown, permaculture, population control. I do not expect industry to solve the problem industry created in a way that doesn't create more problems.
To remove all the co2 we put into the atmosphere would take more energy than we extracted from fossil fuels since the industrial revolution. And all that energy would, of course, have to be produced in an absolutely carbon-free manner.
So this is and will remain an entirely impractical method of combatting global warming. MIT engineers know this. The people who funded this research know this. Why are they doing this?
0: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S258929911...
For the small amount of CCS we need, oceanic bio CCS is the way to go.
We're better off simply not emitting as much GHGs or digging up any more, and switching to renewables and distributed storage.
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