It results from trapping and sequestering carbon dioxide
New fuel .. Scientists pick up from the air
The main objective of the project is to improve the environment and expand energy sources.
From the source
The Argonne Research Center collaborated with the Slack Laboratory to develop methods of artificial photosynthesis, by converting carbon dioxide in the air into fuel and other useful chemicals.
There is no doubt that this process is easy for plants and their leaves, but capturing carbon dioxide from the air through an artificial photosynthesis process is still a difficult process for scientists to simulate.
Chemists have developed methods to capture carbon dioxide from the air using chemicals that react positively to it, but even after capturing it, it is often difficult to release and use in artificial photosynthesis.
Therefore, the Argonne National Laboratory of the US Department of Energy and the Slack Laboratory will receive about $ 4.5 million, over three years, from the US Department of Energy, to conduct research aimed at achieving this goal.
Carbon dioxide capture involves capturing the gas, transporting it to a storage site and isolating it.
Therefore, the two labs will focus together on developing photochemical methods that can capture carbon dioxide directly from the air, and combine the processes of capturing gas and chemically converting it into fuel.
The main objective of this project is to improve the environment and expand energy sources by converting carbon dioxide into fuels and other chemicals with added value, such as methanol and acrylic acid derivatives, both of which are used in the chemical industry to make polymers, including resins, plastics and adhesives, and it can also be Using methanol as a fuel to generate electricity.
Chemist Xenega Glossack is leading the project in the Solar Energy Conversion Group at the Department of Science and Chemical Engineering in the Argonne Laboratory, having worked in the field of artificial photosynthesis since 2000, but combining CO2 capture with photosynthesis is a new direction for her and her team.
“We were thrilled to have the opportunity to work on this challenge and discover new science,” said Glossack, who is also a professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
We are pleased to have found a new and environmentally sound way to generate energy. ”
Indeed, after years of studying the interaction between matter and electromagnetic radiation, scientists have been able to understand what happens in materials when light is absorbed, and how this light is converted into energy.
“The current project builds on our extensive experience and provides us with the opportunity to combine the processes of capturing carbon dioxide with photosynthesis,” Glusac said.
Great hope
"Our approach aims to combine carbon dioxide capture with artificial photosynthesis in one process, called photocapture," said chemical chemist Xenega Glossack, who is leading the project. "We will explore molecular photovoltaic reactors that can absorb carbon dioxide and use sunlight to convert it into Useful chemicals.
We have great hope in this endeavor. ”
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