Mishap Allows Scientists to Convert CO2 to Ethanol

Researchers from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee have been trying to find a series of chemical reactions that would enable CO2 to transform into fuel, and they have finally cracked it.  They have discovered a reaction that effectively turns CO2 into ethanol, which is perfect for powering vehicles or generators and could potentially be used to create new technology that can avert climate change altogether.

The new technique uses a combination of copper and carbon to create nanospikes on a silicon surface.  It also allows high precision within the reactions with very few contaminants to disrupt the mix.  One of the scientists involved in the research, Dr. Adam Rondinone, stated; “By using conventional 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.”

This new process could revolutionize the way fuels are currently produced.  Unlike other methods, this works at room temperature and can easily be stopped or started and costs tiny in comparison.  Rondinone comments, “A process like this would allow you to consume extra electricity when it’s available to make and store as ethanol.  This could help to balance a grid supplied by intermittent renewable sources.  Further research is set to continue to try and improve the efficiency even more, and if successful we could see this process rolled out more across the globe in the not too distant future, so watch this space.

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