Scientists Accidentally Discover How to Convert CO2 to Ethanol

Some of the best discoveries have been by accident, and a recent discovery by the Oak Ridge [...]

Some of the best discoveries have been by accident, and a recent discovery by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory might very well help stave off climate change.

Scientists at Oak Ridge, located in Tennesee, were researching chemical reactions that could transform CO2 into usable fuels. They soon realized they already had the answer as part of their first step, which successfully turned CO2 into Ethanol.

"We discovered somewhat by accident that this material worked," said ORNL's Adam Rondinone, lead author of the team's study published in ChemistrySelect. "We were trying to study the first step of a proposed reaction when we realized that the catalyst was doing the entire reaction on its own."

They are able to do it by using a combination of copper and carbon on a silicon surface, and they arrange them using nanospikes (via Ornl.gov).

"By using common materials, but arranging them with nanotechnology, we figured out how to limit the side reactions and end up with the one thing that we want," said Adam Rondinone. They are like 50-nanometer lightning rods that concentrate electrochemical reactivity at the tip of the spike."

"We're taking carbon dioxide, a waste product of combustion, and we're pushing that combustion reaction backwards with very high selectivity to a useful fuel," Rondinone said. "Ethanol was a surprise -- it's extremely difficult to go straight from carbon dioxide to ethanol with a single catalyst."

It isn't the first time that CO2 has been turned into fuel, but ethanol is widely used already, and the process works at room temperature. That might not sound like a big deal, but when it comes to energy cost, it's huge. Since it doesn't require such a specific or special environment, it can be started and stopped at any time, and that energy can even be stored.

"A process like this would allow you to consume extra electricity when it's available to make and store as ethanol," said Rondinone. "This could help to balance a grid supplied by intermittent renewable sources."

Researchers plan on continuing to refine the process now that they know it works, and don't be surprised if you see it in action sooner than later.

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