Aberdeen university embarks on hydrocarbon electrolyser project
A group of university scientists believe they have identified a new method for converting CO2 into viable hydrocarbons that could then be fed into energy storage facilities.
University of Aberdeen said March 31 it had been awarded £250,000 ($328,000) from the research grant board Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to explore whether a plasma electrolyser could extract hydrocarbons from ionised gases, by reducing CO2 while oxidating hydrogen molecules.
The method combines principles of electrocatalysis and plasma-catalysis. A plasma electrolyser would spark an electrochemical reaction in the centre of two electrodes positioned in the gas. The electrolyser itself would be powered by renewable energy.
University of Aberdeen says the science could support the UK's 2050 carbon neutrality target, recycling CO2 emissions from steel makers, cement factories and other heavy industries that produce significant emissions.
The research is being led by Professor Angel Cuestar Ciscar from the university's natural and computing sciences school. Ciscar's team hopes to produce a prototype device to showcase the plasma electrolyser concept as a renewable form of energy.
Ciscar said: "Despite the wide research interest in plasma-catalysis this approach has never been attempted, and our research will require technical and scientific breakthroughs to deliver its aims.
"The energy transition requires technologies for efficient energy storage and conversion or to enable the decarbonisation of industrial processes, and this is where electrochemical processes can play a crucial role.
“But while these processes are inherently energy efficient, they’re often still not efficient enough to overcome cost barriers."
Ciscar's project is one of 10 research programmes that received funding from the UK's research and innovation programme on March 31 to promote "adventurous" materials, devices and fuels that could help the country meet its 2050 net zero commitments.
The other grant awardees include a University of Surrey programme that would pull the building blocks of carbon and nitrogen from the air to foster a carbon-negative chemical industry.