New catalyst offers economical carbon capture and storage

The team of University of Toronto Engineering researchers believes its discovery is an important step toward more economically favourable techniques for carbon capture and storage.

In a statement, Professor David Sinton said: “Today, we have more and better options for low-carbon electricity generation than ever before. But there are other sectors of the economy that will be harder to decarbonise: for example, steel and cement manufacturing. To help those industries, we need to invent cost-effective ways to capture and upgrade the carbon in their waste streams.” 

The Toronto team’s findings are detailed in Nature Energy.

Senior author Sinton and his team used electrolysers to convert CO2 and electricity into products such as ethylene and ethanol that can be sold as fuels or used as chemical feedstocks.

Inside the electrolyser, the conversion reaction happens when CO2 gas, electrons and a water-based liquid electrolyte unite on the surface of a solid catalyst. 

The catalyst is often made of copper but may also contain other metals or organic compounds that can further improve the system. Its function is to speed up the reaction and minimise the creation of undesirable side products that reduce the efficiency of the overall process.