Using Greenhouse Gases for "Good"?
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| Fig. 1 Schematic of Ag electrocatalyst converting CO2 into CO (1) |
In Nature Communications, Lu et al. has
published a highly selective, high throughput catalyst for converting carbon
dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into carbon monoxide (Fig. 1)1. Yes, carbon monoxide
is a toxic gas…after all, it is one of the toxic by-products released in car
exhaust fumes; however, carbon monoxide is a very useful synthetic tool with
uses including pharmaceutical applications, electronics, chemical manufacturing,
and the list goes on2–5.
This catalyst works differently than the
previously documented silver catalyst, the polycrystalline silver
electrocatalyst, due to its large electrochemical surface area—see, size does
matter!—as well as its curved structure.
Its inherent surface area is 150-times larger than the polycrystalline
silver, and it is more than 20-times more active than its predecessor. Moreover, it is 92% selective for carbon
monoxide formation, which is more than 3000 times higher than the
polycrystalline silver under similar conditions1!
Why is this important? Currently, carbon dioxide is of interest due
to its increasing concentration within our environment, often associated with
an increase in the use of combustible fossil fuels. This change in climate is not merely an
increase in temperature; it can be manifested as well as a decrease in
temperature. For example, it is
predicted that the weather in parts of Europe, including Great Britain, could actually
become more wintery due to the disappearance of the favorable, warm ocean
currents6. Climate change can
also greatly affect the biodiversity and natural ecosystems as indicated in
Figure 2 where the number of exotic plant species has increased as the number
of frost days has decreased in Switzerland7.
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| Fig 2: Ecological Response to Climate Change. The graph on the left displays how the number of exotic plant species has increased as the number of frost days has decreased in Switzerland. The picture on the right is of an exotic evergreen species (7). |
1. Lu Q, Rosen J, Zhou Y, et al. A
selective and efficient electrocatalyst for carbon dioxide reduction. Nat
Commun. 2014;5. doi:10.1038/ncomms4242.
2. Dghaym
RD, Dhawan R, Arndtsen BA. The Use of Carbon Monoxide and Imines as Peptide
Derivative Synthons: A Facile Palladium-Catalyzed Synthesis of α-Amino Acid
Derived Imidazolines. Angew Chem Int Ed. 2001;40(17):3228–3230.
doi:10.1002/1521-3773(20010903)40:17<3228::AID-ANIE3228>3.0.CO;2-Q.
3. Foresti
R, Bani-Hani MG, Motterlini R. Use of carbon monoxide as a therapeutic agent:
promises and challenges. Intensive Care Med. 2008;34(4):649–658.
doi:10.1007/s00134-008-1011-1.
4. Johnston
DE, Islam MF, Yodh AG, Johnson AT. Electronic devices based on purified carbon
nanotubes grown by high-pressure decomposition of carbon monoxide. Nat Mater.
2005;4(8):589–592. doi:10.1038/nmat1427.
5. Romano
U, Tesel R, Mauri MM, Rebora P. Synthesis of Dimethyl Carbonate from Methanol,
Carbon Monoxide, and Oxygen Catalyzed by Copper Compounds. Ind Eng Chem Prod
Res Dev. 1980;19(3):396–403. doi:10.1021/i360075a021.
6. O’Hare
G. Updating our understanding of climate change in the North Atlantic: the role
of global warming and the Gulf Stream. Geography. 2011;96(1):5–15.
7. Walther
G-R, Post E, Convey P, et al. Ecological responses to recent climate change. Nature.
2002;416(6879):389–395. doi:10.1038/416389a.
I found this article intriguing. The researchers at the University of Delaware have really outdone themselves on coming up with a creative way to deal with the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. I would have never thought of converting it into carbon monoxide w, and especially not with 92 percent efficiency! I did enjoy that they also found a cheaper way to deal with the gaseous garbage, by using a non-porous silver electrocatalyst, which is 3000x more active than polycrystalline silver. The resulting carbon monoxide can be used as an industry feedstock for producing synthetic fuels (I will have to take your word on CO's usefullness, besides its poisonous effects), while reducing industrial carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 40 percent!
ReplyDeleteI find evironmental sciences very fascinating. I wrote my graduation paper on how public schools could employ green technology to save money and reduce our imprint on the planet. Another article that is in the same interest is: . This article discuses a genius process that takes algae slurry and efficiently produces crude oil in less than an hour. The biocrude oil can then be refined conventionally into gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel. This innovation could lead to a cheaper and less energy intensive technique. The researchers were also able to utilize the wastewater stream to recover flammable gases and nutrients that can grow more algae. Who knew pond scum could make the big bucks?
Sorry, the link didn't post: http://www.firstpost.com/living/greenhouse-gases-can-be-converted-to-useful-chemicals-now-1370653.html
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting article to read and I am curious to see if the turning of carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide will have a negative long term affect. It was also very interesting to see how there are new solutions to reducing (in this case recycling) greenhouse gases because I recently read an article about a study that showed that the amount of carbon dioxide that is stored in the ground has an even greater impact on global climate and it is the symbiotic relationship between plants and certain fungi that help to regulate and control its release into the environment.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140108133257.htm
It is interesting that our society has to use energy to make our other sources of energy cleaner. These converters reduce carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide using electricity and a catalyst. Efficiency has always been a major drawback of electrocatalytic converters. We need to get the most “bang for our buck” in order for these converters to make economic sense. This is why researchers are continually looking for more efficient and selective catalysts. Two major benefits of this specific converter is its efficiency and selectivity. The carbon monoxide that is produced through these converters is a useful source of raw materials for synthesizing fuels. This is one way of boosting the overall efficiency of these systems. The most ingenious way the researchers increased the efficiency of the catalyst is by creating the curved internal surface. The curved internal surface makes the catalyst require a significantly lower voltage to overcome the activation energy of the reaction. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact these types of technologies will have on the climate change problem we are currently facing.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140130/ncomms4242/full/ncomms4242.html#supplementary-information
http://www.firstpost.com/living/greenhouse-gases-can-be-converted-to-useful-chemicals-now-1370653.html
http://zeenews.india.com/news/science/new-catalyst-turns-greenhouse-gases-into-useful-chemicals_908596.html
Basically, they are taking green house gas emission (one bad thing), turning it into a toxic gas (another bad thing) and getting articles published about it.... Only in science. Seriously though, carbon monoxide is an incredibly useful tool in synthesis and has been found useful as a therapeutic agent. It amazes me that something such as carbon monoxide, which can cause death, could be used to alleviate cardiovascular disorders. This does raise some questions for me, though.
ReplyDeleteWe know carbon monoxide can be synthesized. We also know that we can use the unruly amounts of carbon dioxide from our environment to synthesize it, but is there a safe way to administer it into the body as a therapeutic agent? Biologically, CO gas is so dangerous because of how it affects the red blood cells and takes up the binding site on the hemoglobin instead of allowing oxygen to bind. Is there a way to remove this negative affect and still get the benefits?
I will be interested to see what else scientists come up with in regards to carbon monoxide. This discovery should motivate scientists to further research the therapeutic abilities of CO and I look forward to hearing about them!
This is a really interesting study, mainly because of these scientists' unique approach to CO2 elimination. By now, most people are aware that carbon dioxide buildup is a major biological hazard and is considered a major threat to the environment and to individual wellbeing. As many investigators have pointed out, the most straightforward approach to addressing excess atmospheric CO2 is through majorly decreasing consumption of hydrocarbon fuels. But what to do about CO2 that already exists in the atmosphere? Through this study, researchers have confirmed that the conversion of CO2 to CO (carbon monoxide) is a useful method for improving environmental conditions. Although this approach is novel, it may also be dangerous because CO is naturally dangerous to humans by taking of the place of oxygen in the blood. This obliterates the body's ability for aerobic respiration and ultimately leads to death. Despite the potentially harmful effects of CO, I'm interested to see what further developments are made in this field of study.
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