Sustainable fuel is created from greenhouse gases
Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have developed a catalyst for more sustainable synthesis gas. It converts climate-damaging CO2 and methane into hydrogen and carbon monoxide. This could be used to produce more climate-friendly fuels and plastics in the future.
Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich ( ETH ) are working on more sustainable fuels and plastics. To do this, they have developed a new type of catalyst. According to a press release , this catalyst could replace fossil hydrocarbons with more climate-friendly alternatives. A corresponding study has now been published in the journal "Nature Communications".
This new catalyst developed by the research team led by ETH professor Christoph Müller and study author Alexey Fedorov enables the conversion of CO2 and methane into synthesis gas many times more efficiently than previous catalyst materials. Synthesis gas is an important raw material for the chemical industry. Liquid fuels can be produced from this, as can basic chemicals for the production of plastics.
What is new about this catalyst is that it consists of extremely thin metal oxide carbides. Unlike conventional catalysts made from metal carbides, they do not oxidize when they come into contact with CO2. This means that the ETH catalyst retains its reactivity, says Christoph Müller, Professor of Energy Science and Energy Technology in the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering .
Since the CO2 can be extracted from the atmosphere and only the methane comes from fossil deposits that are millions of years old, such synthetic fuels and chemicals have a smaller carbon footprint than fossil fuels.
The new reaction accelerator could possibly also replace expensive noble metal catalysts. Although there is still a long way to go before industrial application, the team hopes, according to Fedorov, “that our new catalyst material will be an attractive option for the production of synthesis gas”.
