A group of researchers from the University of Toronto Ted Sargent group used a new technique that’s only available at the Canadian Light Source research facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and were able to pinpoint the conditions that would convert CO2 most efficiently into ethylene.
Polyethylene is the most widely used form of plastic on the planet, with worldwide production exceeding 80 million tons annually. To make this plastic, Ethylene is needed. However, using the current methods in place to reduce carbon dioxide into other chemicals requires the use of an electrical current and a chemical reaction, aided by a catalyst.
There are a number of metals that can be used as a catalyst, but copper is the only metal that can be used to create polyethylene. However, the chemical process also creates a number of harmful chemicals. For example, gold, silver, and zinc can make carbon monoxide, while tin and palladium can make formate.
“Copper is a bit of a magic metal. It’s magic because it can make many different chemicals, like methane, ethylene, and ethanol, but controlling what it makes is difficult,” says U of T Ph.D. student Phil De Luna, the lead researcher on this project.
Designing the right catalyst
Because using copper in the reduction process can lead to the creation of large amounts of methane, the researchers wanted to create a catalyst and pinpoint the best conditions that would maximize ethylene production, while minimizing the methane output, preferably to zero.
It took the use of a unique piece of equipment developed by CLS senior scientist Tom Regier to make it possible for researchers to study the shape and chemical environment of their copper catalyst all the way through the CO2 reduction reaction, in real time.
“This has never been done before,” says Ph.D. student Rafael Quintero-Bermudez, the paper’s other first co-author. “This unique measurement allowed us to explore a lot of research questions about how the process takes place and how it can be engineered to improve.”
What would this new process mean for manufacturing plastics today? Basically, we could make plastics without any harmful side-effects while removing fossil fuels in the process and reducing a potent greenhouse gas.
“I think the future will be filled with technologies that make value out of waste,” said De Luna. “It’s exciting because we are working towards developing new and sustainable ways to meet the energy demands of the future.”
The research is a giant step forward for the U of T and CLS, and everyone was very pleased with the results. “We are constantly working to develop more and better tools for the research community to use. It is rewarding when you see the tools being used to solve important problems with significant applications,” says Regier.
Canada’s Global News reports the results of the study were published Monday in the brand-new Nature family journal Nature Catalysis.
