In the search for alternative and sustainable energy and fuel sources, one of the practical solutions may be the conversion of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into liquid fuel. Now, a way has been found to convert two units of carbon monoxide into one unit consisting of two carbon atoms
![From one carbon to two carbons: coupling of two carbon monoxide units to form a two-carbon product [Kyle Horak and Joshua Buss/Caltech]](https://www.hayadan.org.il/images/content3/2016/02/Caltech_CMLF-NEWS-WEB1.png)
In the search for alternative and sustainable energy and fuel sources, one of the practical solutions may be the conversion of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into liquid fuel. Now, a way has been found to convert two units of carbon monoxide into one unit consisting of two carbon atoms.
Through the process of photosynthesis, plants convert sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into sugars - those multi-carbon molecules that fuel the processes in the cells. That is, carbon dioxide functions both as the raw material of fossil fuel which is a central part of modern life, and as a by-product of combustion processes of this fuel. The ability to produce artificial liquid fuel from stable carbonaceous starting materials that have been oxidized, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO), is reminiscent of the photosynthesis process that occurs in nature. For about a hundred years, a chemical method known as the 'Fisher Troops' process has been used to convert hydrogen gas and carbon monoxide into liquid fuel. However, the exact mechanism of this process is still unclear, and unlike the process of photosynthesis, it requires the use of high pressures (up to a hundred times the atmospheric pressure) and high temperatures (300-100 degrees Celsius).
Recently, studies have been published regarding alternative conversion methods aimed at obtaining liquid fuel from oxidized carbonaceous feedstocks. With the help of electrocatalysts based on the metal copper, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide can be converted into multi-carbon materials. These processes occur under mild conditions, but their exact mechanism is still unclear. Now, researchers at Caltech University have developed a model system that demonstrates the first steps in this process. The findings, published a long time ago in the journal Nature, provide the basis for the development of technologies that may in the future neutralize the negative effects of the atmospheric accumulation of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide thanks to its conversion back to fuel. Although there are methods for converting carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide, the subsequent essential step, namely, the removal of an oxygen atom from carbon monoxide and the formation of a carbon-carbon bond, is much more difficult and challenging.
In their research, the scientists were able to synthesize a new conjugate based on a transition metal, that is, a metal atom (molybdenum in this case) bound to several molecules known as ligands - a conjugate capable of encouraging the activation and fission of a carbon monoxide molecule. A significant redox of the molecule leads to a considerable weakening of the carbon-oxygen (CO) type bonds and once these are weakened, the entire bond breaks down through a reaction with another material based on silicon. This fission gives rise to extreme carbide - a single carbon atom bonded to a metal atom - which in turn forms a bond with the second carbon monoxide group bonded to the metal atom. In spite of the fact that in the past, the boron carbide was proposed as an intermediate boron in the conjugate reduction of carbon monoxide, this is the first ever demonstration of the role of this boron within this mechanism. With the formation of the carbon-carbon bond, the metal atom releases the product consisting of two carbon atoms. In general, the process converts two units of carbon monoxide to the result of the substance ethanol (HC≡C-OH) and proceeds at temperatures below room temperature.
"To our knowledge, this is the first example of a well-defined reaction that converts two units of carbon monoxide (a substance with one carbon atom) into the product of ethanol (a substance with two carbon atoms), a molecule close to the important fuel ethanol; The fact that the product containing two carbon atoms can be released from the metal is very important," notes the lead researcher. Although the resulting product is not useful in itself as a fuel, the process is another step in the development of the ability to produce an artificial fuel consisting of several carbon atoms from carbon monoxide.
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I hope someone will refer to such an old article...
Not sure I understood something...
Energy is needed to recycle the fuel and produce fuel from it, since we produce energy and use it to produce energy. Of course, as in any process, there is a loss of energy along the way, so why do it in the first place?
And if you say that this is how we reduce GHG emissions into the atmosphere, then you can simply stop producing polluting energy and consume energy directly from the sun/wind, etc...
Can someone enlighten me?
Or maybe this is a different direction from the previous article?
An article has already been published on the topic of converting fuel oil to fuel. You should write what is the connection between the articles. progress? Which? What is the connection between the advances? What else is missing to get to practice?
The idea is nice. The problem is what is the efficiency of releasing the carbon and turning it into a liquid. Please note that after all the various conversions, the fuel that is produced will drive engines whose efficiency at best reaches 30%, the likelihood that such fuel will be used is in aviation where there is a requirement to produce energy at a particularly high density. In my opinion, apart from an academic idea, there is no economic basis here. A cheap solar panel will produce much more energy. Future research must concentrate on energy storage when the promising direction is a supercapacitor, which theoretical calculations show an energy density greater than the energy density of conventional liquid fuel.