Scientists Accidentally Discover Efficient Process To Turn Co2 Into Ethanol

[Flashermac]

Scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee have discovered a chemical reaction to turn CO2 into ethanol, potentially creating a new technology to help avert climate change. Their findings were published in the journal ChemistrySelect.

 

The researchers were attempting to find a series of chemical reactions that could turn CO2 into a useful fuel, when they realized the first step in their process managed to do it all by itself. The reaction turns CO2 into ethanol, which could in turn be used to power generators and vehicles.

 

The tech involves a new combination of copper and carbon arranged into nanospikes on a silicon surface. The nanotechnology allows the reactions to be very precise, with very few contaminants.

 

"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.

 

The tech involves a new combination of copper and carbon arranged into nanospikes on a silicon surface. The nanotechnology allows the reactions to be very precise, with very few contaminants.

 

"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.

 

"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."

 

The researchers plan to further study this process and try and make it more efficient. If they're successful, we just might see large-scale carbon capture using this technique in the near future.

 

 

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/green-tech/a23417/convert-co2-into-ethanol/?linkId=31295074

 

 

How is the oil industry going to stop this one?

[pasathai1]

how much energy does the process use ?

[Dexi]

Fit this onto a car exhaust,then return the ethanol into the fuel tank where it can power the car....Wow,I may have invented perpetual motion

[Mekong]

Where does the Hydrogen come from?

 

CO₂ to C₂H₅OH sounds like Alchemy to me.

 

Also I don't place much faith in a report which uses the phrase "Which Could in turn be used to power generators"

 

Generators are not powered but driven by a turbine which is attached to the generator. Turbines are either driven by Steam produced from burning fossil fuels (Coal, Oil or Gas or a Combination of) or a Nuclear Reaction, Hydro Power from Water Pressure, Wind Power which IMHO is not proper Powergen just a bunch of Greens playing with windmills or via a Gas Turbine every jet aircraft flying in the world has Gas Turbines hanging off their wings

 

I take reports like this with a pinch of Sodium Chloride.

[baa99]

Where does the Hydrogen come from?

 

CO₂ to C₂H₅OH sounds like Alchemy to me.

 

Also I don't place much faith in a report which uses the phrase "Which Could in turn be used to power generators"

 

Generators are not powered but driven by a turbine which is attached to the generator. Turbines are either driven by Steam produced from burning fossil fuels (Coal, Oil or Gas or a Combination of) or a Nuclear Reaction, Hydro Power from Water Pressure, Wind Power which IMHO is not proper Powergen just a bunch of Greens playing with windmills or via a Gas Turbine every jet aircraft flying in the world has Gas Turbines hanging off their wings

 

I take reports like this with a pinch of Sodium Chloride.

 

 

[Specialist]

2 CO₂ + 3 H₂O + energy --> C₂H₅OH + 3 O₂

 

The process is necessarily endothermic, because running it the other way is burning ethanol, consuming oxygen, to release energy.

[Mekong]

2 CO₂ + 3 H₂O + energy --> C₂H₅OH + 3 O₂

 

 

Here is the kicker "ENERGY" how much and what is its source

 

Reminds me of the old "Spend a $ to save 2 Cents" Scenario and I have seen that on numerous occasions "Oh, I am so clever saved the project $20.000" Ya spent $1 million to save that 20K you knob (Head / wall moment).

 

Specialist]

 

You have your Endo and Exo mixed up, Greek is my eighth Language after English, Spanish, German, French, Thai Latin and Bullshit. Endo pre-fix is derived from the Greek "Endon" (ἔνδον) meaning "within' and "Therm" (θεÏμ-) means hot ... An endothermic reaction depends on absorbing energy (heat) to proceed.

 

Now we enter the realms of Thermodynamics, a topic on which Donkeys and hind legs off I could bore anybody on.

 

ENTHAPHY or Energy In, can be measured in British Thermal Units (BTU), Horsepower (BHP) even Calories, yes even the Human Body is a machine which consumes energy, nowadays the International System of Units (SI) (i.e. the rest of the world apart from the USA) uses the Joule, simple to understand in the Classic Carnoot Heat Engine

 

ENTROPHY or Energy Out, now one would assume that the Entraphy / Entrophy ratios were a fixed ratio but they are not, it is a fundamental postulate of statistical mechanics, in layman terms a bunch of fucking bollox. I am told that an absolute vacuum is 1013mBar below atmospheric, absolute zero is -273 Degrees Celsius but in real life I have never seen either just hypotheticals stated as a datum point, it is all bullshit but I have a Phd in bullshit haha.

 

There are Four Laws of Thermodynamics, in modern society we would expect them to be named Law One, Two. Three and Four ... not so there is Law Zeroth. When boffins of old wrote the laws they did not understand the basic "If two systems are both in thermal equilibrium with a third system then they are in thermal equilibrium with each other" hence the reason it was called Law Zeroth.

 

For the record, I am not a mad scientist, I am more likely to discuss my opinion about Jeff Beck being a superior guitarist to both Clapton and Page or how the 1993 Suzuki GSXR-750L was a game changer in Super Bike technology but Thermodynamics puts a roof over my head and rice in the bowl so to speak

[Specialist]

You have your Endo and Exo mixed up, Greek is my eighth Language after English, Spanish, German, French, Thai Latin and Bullshit. Endo pre-fix is derived from the Greek "Endon" (ἔνδον) meaning "within' and "Therm" (θεÏμ-) means hot ... An endothermic reaction depends on absorbing energy (heat) to proceed.

 

Nope.

 

If you run the reaction as follows:

 

C₂H₅OH + 3 O₂ --> 2 CO₂ + 3 H₂O + energy

 

what you are doing is burning ethanol. That makes a fire, releasing carbon dioxide, water, and heat. That's the definition of exothermic.

 

Running the reaction the other way, using energy (and technology) to reform carbon dioxide and water into ethanol and oxygen, takes energy to drive it. Carbon dioxide is not easy to split: it takes a lot of energy. Water naturally dissociates into protons and hydroxyl radicals, but splitting the hydroxyl radicals into protons and ionized oxygen also takes a lot of energy. Then you have to transport everything and get it to reassemble into a relatively high-energy configuration, rather than the low-energy (CO2 and water) configuration you started with.

 

You have to pump energy in to form the ethanol. That's endothermic.

[Mekong]

You have to pump energy in

 

Exactly my Point and the economic cost of energy in outweighs the fiscal returns on the product.

 

Water is H₂O, have you ever tried producing Hydrogen from water? It isn't cheap. The old method was KOH (Potassium Hydroxide) Electrolysis, Electrol i.e. zap it with electricity, nowadays it is better to use membrane / reverse osmosis method, it can be extracted from COG (Coke Oven Gas) but not many people have a steel works next doorstep.

 

I make Hydrogen, well not physically, I don't sit there and divide the water molecule into atoms, even I am not that good, but I purchased a membrane Hydrogen Plant. Why Hydrogen on a Power Plant one may ask? To Cool my Generator, it may sound batshit but my 600,000,000 watt /hour 11,000 Volt Gennies are more efficient with Hydrogen Cooling onto the stator.

 

Majority of people don't understand Electricity, it is their god given right to flick a switch and the light comes on, press a button and the Aircon kicks in, it is man made magic society could not live without.

[BelgianBoy]

use renewable energy, and do it cheap !