Technological Breakthrough In The Fight To Cut
Greenhouse Gases
4/28/2008
Scientists at Newcastle University have pioneered breakthrough technology in
the fight to cut greenhouse gases.
The Newcastle University team, led by Michael North, Professor of Organic
Chemistry, has developed a highly energy-efficient method of converting
waste carbon dioxide (CO2) into chemical compounds known as cyclic
carbonates.
The team estimates that the technology has the potential to use up to 48
million tonnes of waste CO2 per year, reducing the UK's emissions by about
four per cent.
Cyclic carbonates are widely used in the manufacture of products including
solvents, paint-strippers, biodegradable packaging, as well as having
applications in the chemical industry. Cyclic carbonates also have potential
for use in the manufacture of a new class of efficient anti-knocking agents
in petrol. Anti-knocking agents make petrol burn better, increasing fuel
efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions.
The conversion technique relies upon the use of a catalyst to force a
chemical reaction between CO2 and an epoxide, converting waste CO2 into this
cyclic carbonate, a chemical for which there is significant commercial
demand.
The reaction between CO2 and epoxides is well known, but one which, until
now, required a lot of energy, needing high temperatures and high pressures
to work successfully. The current process also requires the use of
ultra-pure CO2, which is costly to produce.
The Newcastle team has succeeded in developing an exceptionally active
catalyst, derived from aluminium, which can drive the reaction necessary to
turn waste carbon dioxide into cyclic carbonates at room temperature and
atmospheric pressure, vastly reducing the energy input required.
Professor North said: 'One of the main scientific challenges facing the
human race in the 21st century is controlling global warming that results
from increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
'One solution to this problem, currently being given serious consideration,
is carbon capture and storage, which involves concentrating and compressing
CO2 and then storing it,' he said. 'However, long-term storage remains to be
demonstrated'.
To date, alternative solutions for converting CO2 emissions into a useful
product has required a process so energy intensive that they generate more
CO2 than they consume.
Professor North compares the process developed by his team to that of a
catalytic converter fitted to a car. 'If our catalyst could be employed at
the source of high-concentration CO2 production, for example in the exhaust
stream of a fossil-fuel power station, we could take out the carbon dioxide,
turn it into a commercially-valuable product and at the same time eliminate
the need to store waste CO2', he said.
Professor North believes that, once it is fully developed, the technology
has the potential to utilise a significant amount of the UK's CO2 emissions
every year.
'To satisfy the current market for cyclic carbonates, we estimate that our
technology could use up to 18 million tonnes of waste CO2 per year, and a
further 30 million tonnes if it is used as an anti-knocking agent.
'Using 48 million tonnes of waste CO2 would account for about four per cent*
of the UK's CO2 emissions, which is a pretty good contribution from one
technology,' commented Professor North. The technique has been proven to
work successfully in the lab. Professor North and his team are currently
carrying out further lab-based work to optimise the efficiency of the
technology, following which they plan to scale-up to a pilot plant.
* Based on 2004 figures from the UN. Source: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions
SOURCE: Newcastle University
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