UvA Researchers invent catalyst for Carbon dioxide conversion

Researchers from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) have created a new catalyst to efficiently convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into carbon monoxide (CO). This breakthrough could help turn CO2, a harmful greenhouse gas, into useful chemicals. If successfully scaled, the invention would provide a practical solution for CO2 conversion.

The catalyst was developed by UvA chemists Edwin Gnanakumar and Shiju Raveendran. They are working with the Amsterdam Innovation Exchange (IXA), the university’s technology transfer office, to commercialize the invention.

Carbon dioxide is a trace gas in Earth’s atmosphere. It plays a crucial role in regulating the planet’s surface temperature by trapping heat. Although essential to the carbon cycle, CO2 is also a potent greenhouse gas. Since the industrial revolution, human activities have steadily increased CO2 levels, contributing to global warming.

Scientists are now exploring ways to turn CO2 into a resource instead of a waste product. Converting CO2 into usable chemicals or fuels is challenging because of the compound’s molecular stability. This stability makes it difficult to activate or reactivate CO2 for chemical reactions.

Gnanakumar and Raveendran, researchers in UvA’s Sustainable Chemistry department, have developed a catalyst that overcomes this challenge. The catalyst efficiently converts CO2 to CO under mild conditions. Once CO is produced, it can be further processed into common hydrocarbons using existing technology. This process provides a viable way to utilize CO2 efficiently.

The catalyst was discovered by accident during an experiment for a different product. Lead researcher Raveendran explains, “We were working on a different product, but the catalyst turned out to be highly selective for CO, outperforming any others we’ve reported.”

The new catalyst is simple to prepare and cost-effective. It can convert CO2 at ambient pressure and low temperatures. Long-term tests in a flow reactor show that the catalyst remains active. These tests suggest the catalyst could be scaled up for applications like industrial flue gas conversion. The researchers also found that the conversion process could easily handle large volumes of gas.

The development of this CO2 catalyst is part of the European research project CAPITA (Catalytic Processes for Innovative Technology Application). The project is co-funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). It involves a consortium that includes the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain), the Technological Educational Institute of Sterea Ellada (Greece), and the Chemical Process Engineering Research Institute (Greece), along with companies such as Hellenic Petroleum Renewables (Greece), GRAPHENANO (Spain), and Delft Solids Solutions (Netherlands).