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posted by Fnord666 on Monday July 27 2020, @09:28PM   Printer-friendly
from the now-if-they-could-just-convert-it-to-ethanol dept.

Tandem catalytic system efficiently converts carbon dioxide to methanol:

Converting carbon dioxide to methanol, a potentially renewable alternative fuel, offers an opportunity to simultaneously form an alternative fuel and cut down on carbon dioxide emissions.

Inspired by naturally occurring processes, a team of Boston College chemists used a multi-catalyst system to convert carbon dioxide to methanol at the lowest temperatures reported with high activity and selectivity, the researchers reported in a recent online edition of the journal Chem.

The team's discovery was made possible by installing multiple catalysts in a single system constructed within a sponge-like porous crystalline material known as a metal-organic framework, said Boston College Associate Professors of Chemistry Jeffery Byers and Frank Tsung, lead authors of the report.

Held in place by the sponge, the separate catalysts work in harmony. Without isolation of the catalytically active species in this way, the reaction did not proceed and no product was obtained, they reported.

The team drew its inspiration from the biological machinery in cells, which use multicomponent chemical reactions with great efficiency, Tsung said.

[...] In addition to achieving site isolation by encapsulating the catalysts, which led to catalyst activity and recyclability, the team discovered an autocatalytic feature of the catalyst that enabled the reaction to be run without the need for large amounts of additives. Most previous reports for similar reactions use large amounts of additives, but the team's approach avoids this necessity and it is the first to use carbon dioxide in an energy-related reaction, Tsung said.

The team plans to do further research into the modularity of both the encapsulation method and the metal-organic frameworks to gain a deeper understanding of the multicomponent system and optimize it further, as well as access new, unexplored reactivity through the formation of new host-guest constructs, Tsung said.

Journal Reference:
Thomas M. Rayder, Enric H. Adillon, Jeffery A. Byers, Chia-Kuang Tsung. A Bioinspired Multicomponent Catalytic System for Converting Carbon Dioxide into Methanol Autocatalytically [$]. Chem May 05, 2020. DOI:10.1016/j.chempr.2020.04.008


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  • (Score: 2) by Snotnose on Monday July 27 2020, @09:34PM (13 children)

    by Snotnose (1623) on Monday July 27 2020, @09:34PM (#1027322)

    Convert it to ethanol and you've just solved the global warming crisis in one fell swoop. Drunken rednecks might be a problem but hey! They don't threaten the planet.

    --
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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @09:50PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @09:50PM (#1027328)

    No, methanol works equally well for drunken rednecks. The moonshine has already thinned the hurd enough so that those who couldn't hold their liquor with a little methanol died off long ago.

  • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @09:51PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @09:51PM (#1027329)

    Drunken rednecks don't threaten the planet - I do.

    Me and my burritos, together, we's gonna FUNK YOU UP.

    • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @09:59PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @09:59PM (#1027335)

      Fuck the millenials.

    • (Score: 2) by Opportunist on Monday July 27 2020, @10:56PM (1 child)

      by Opportunist (5545) on Monday July 27 2020, @10:56PM (#1027365)

      You're supposed to make methanol, not methane.

      • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @11:13PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @11:13PM (#1027376)

        We splitting hairs here?

        We's gonna funk you up.

        And fuck the millenials.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @10:05PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @10:05PM (#1027338)

    "redneck"

    Racist. It's amazing how brazen racists like you have become.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 28 2020, @12:10AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 28 2020, @12:10AM (#1027418)

      Poor victim!

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 28 2020, @12:34AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 28 2020, @12:34AM (#1027429)

        "Redneck" is a lifestyle choice, so it's nothing like race or sexual orientation. Perfectly OK to hold Republicans personally responsible for heinous lifestyle choices! Like Roger Stone, "Lock him up!"

        • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday July 28 2020, @03:20PM

          by Freeman (732) on Tuesday July 28 2020, @03:20PM (#1027654) Journal

          So, what you're saying is being poor and/or uneducated is a lifestyle choice. Very bigoted of you.

          --
          Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
    • (Score: 1) by petecox on Tuesday July 28 2020, @12:36AM (1 child)

      by petecox (3228) on Tuesday July 28 2020, @12:36AM (#1027430)

      Hi from the skin cancer capital of the world, Australia.

      Wear a hat and apply sunblock.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 28 2020, @01:55PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 28 2020, @01:55PM (#1027606)

        Drink until drunk. Vomit.

        Australian full grown adults (let's say age 50+) are some of the nastiest people you'll ever meet.

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by c0lo on Tuesday July 28 2020, @12:44AM (1 child)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 28 2020, @12:44AM (#1027433) Journal

    Convert it to ethanol and you've just solved the global warming crisis in one fell swoop

    Waste of energy, the ethanol catabolism [wikipedia.org] has CO2 and water at the end.

    I say make it in durable plastics and sequester that carbon in landfills, it will be mined by the next species that reaches intelligence and civilization (large grin)

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 28 2020, @01:57PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 28 2020, @01:57PM (#1027607)

      Maybe a liquid form of plastic. We could create large reservoirs of it and pump it into the ground and under the oceans.