International. A researcher at the University of Alberta is developing better ways to convert carbon dioxide, a harmful greenhouse gas, and glycerol, a leftover from biodiesel production, into value-added materials with a wide range of uses.
One such use is the storage of liquid hydrogen.
"The pair of procedures, which will be tested on a larger scale to determine their viability at the industrial level, represent an important step forward in sustainability," said Yanet Rodríguez Herrero, who did the work to earn a PhD in bioresource technology and food engineering from the College of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Sciences.
"We've broken down a barrier when it comes to improving difficult conversion processes and making them more efficient," Herrero continues.
Although CO2 is a major contributor to climate change, it also has the potential to be converted into methanol, a highly valuable chemical that can be used in various industrial applications, including automotive, electronics, clothing, adhesives, paints and coatings, packaging, solvents, and pharmaceuticals. and agricultural chemicals.
Methanol also shows promise as a method of transporting and storing hydrogen in liquid form.
But one of the main barriers to successfully converting CO2 into methanol is the water that is formed as a byproduct during the hydrogenation process, which deactivates a catalyst needed for transformation.
Using nanotechnology, Herrero successfully developed a process in the lab to prepare a stable catalyst that has the ability to repel water, so it works well at low pressure and temperature, making the conversion less energy-intensive and more economically efficient.
"Once the process can be successfully scaled up for use in industry, it could mean the direct utilization of large amounts of CO2 that have been captured and stored, along with its potential for liquid hydrogen storage," said Aman Ullah, a professor in the Faculty of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Sciences who oversaw Herrero's work.
"Converting CO2 into various value-added products would be a more logical idea to reduce emissions, with huge benefits for the chemical industry," Ullah continued.
