United States.
Scientists have developed aluminum and carbon dioxide cells that use electrochemical reactions to capture carbon dioxide and convert it into electricity.
The Cornell University team explained that it is a technique based on carbon capture (CO2) technology, but in an innovative variant to capture greenhouse gases and use them as a useful product, while producing electrical energy.
These cells employ aluminum as an anode and mixed streams of carbon dioxide and oxygen as active cathode ingredients. Electrochemical reactions between the anode and cathode (which are electrodes) serve to store carbon dioxide in carbon-rich compounds while producing electricity.
In most CO2 capture models, carbon is captured in liquids or solids, which are heated or depressurized to release carbon dioxide. The concentrated gas must be compressed and transported to industries that can reuse it, or be stored underground, which requires complex infrastructures.
In addition to the large amount of energy required by the current carbon capture technology: 25% of the energy production of the plant.
In contrast, with the electrochemical cells discovered by these scientists, 13 amps per hour per gram of carbon can be generated at a potential discharge of 1.4 volts. The energy produced is comparable to that of the largest energy density battery systems.
Source: www.ticbeat.com
