Dorna Esrafilzadeh, Ali Zavabeti, Rouhollah Jalili
Paul Atkin, Jaecheol Choi, Benjamin J. Carey, Robert Brkljača, Anthony P. O’Mullane, Michael D. Dickey, David L. Officer, Douglas R. MacFarlane, Torben Daeneke, Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh
2019 · Nature Communications
AbstractNegative carbon emission technologies are critical for ensuring a future stable climate. However, the gaseous state of CO2 does render the indefinite storage of this greenhouse gas challenging. Herein, we created a liquid metal electrocatalyst that contains metallic elemental cerium nanoparticles, which facilitates the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to layered solid carbonaceous species, at a low onset potential of −310 mV vs CO2/C. We exploited the formation of a cerium oxide catalyst at the liquid metal/electrolyte interface, which together with cerium nanoparticles, promoted the room temperature reduction of CO2. Due to the inhibition of van der Waals adhesion at the liquid interface, the electrode was remarkably resistant to deactivation via coking caused by solid carbonaceous species. The as-produced solid carbonaceous materials could be utilised for the fabrication of high-performance capacitor electrodes. Overall, this liquid metal enabled electrocatalytic process at room temperature may result in a viable negative emission technology.
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Great idea. I want to build a house out of CCS bricks! I don't (yet) understand the chemistry behind extracting solid carbon from the air for cheap, but I have reason to believe it's possible: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-08824-8 Another aspect of this is that it could maybe exploit modern monetary policy. Price of bricks getting too high? Maybe 'ease' a few more into circulation by buying them with new dollars.
> Mars’ atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide. MOXIE works by separating oxygen atoms from carbon dioxide molecules, which are made up of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. A waste product, carbon monoxide, is emitted into the Martian atmosphere. That doesn’t seem like a process you’d want to scale. I wonder why they didn’t go for the process that splits CO2 into O2 and pure carbon? https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-08824-8
> Yes, but today we’re using coal to produce solar panels. Why even bother with such a fantasy hypothetical? Why not just go all the way to cold fusion if we’re just making stuff up that isn’t being done currently? One obvious difference – the technology to capture waste CO2 gas is clearly feasible in principle. We already have lots of research into capturing and reusing CO2 (such as from coal-fired power stations) [1], and we already have known industrial processes which use CO2 as input [2]. So, the issue here is really (a) more R&D to finesse the technology, (b) its application to silicon refining specifically (other CO2 emissions sources are more significant and hence…
receive more focus) (c) getting the economics right. (On the last point, emissions trading schemes may help.) By contrast, most of the physics community doesn't believe cold fusion is a real phenomena, and the small minority who think it is can't explain how it works. You are comparing a technology whose physics and chemistry is well understood, and which basically just needs productisation, with a technology where there is disagreement on whether physics even allows it to exist. [3] seems a particularly interesting approach - conversion of CO2 gas to graphite. The graphite in turn could potentially be reused in the silicon refining (which needs a carbon source, not coal/coke/wood specifically). Most current methods of procesing CO2 turn it into chemicals such as methanol (CO2 + hydrogen gas), urea (CO2 + ammonia), etc, which while useful, I'm not sure you could actually reuse those chemicals in silicon refining [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_capture_and_storage [2] e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol#From_synthesis_gas [3] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-08824-8 > This is what I meant about the left having a fantasy that one day technology will save us I'm not sure it is really "the left having a fantasy". I know plenty of right-leaning people with solar panels on their roofs. (I even know global warming sceptics with solar panels on their roof.)
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