The search and development of alternative ways of obtaining fuel has been going on for a long time. And despite significant advances, many new methods often remain unprofitable. But recently, according to the publication of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences "Science in Siberia", Novosibirsk experts from the Institute of Catalysis. GK Boreskov succeeded in creating a technology for processing atmospheric carbon dioxide and water into synthetic gas fuel.
In the production of fuel, hydrogen and oxygen are first produced from water using electrolysis. Oxygen is released into the atmosphere and hydrogen is reacted with carbon dioxide at elevated temperatures in the presence of a catalyst to produce methane. To collect carbon dioxide from the air, scientists used potassium carbonate, which was impregnated with a porous carrier based on aluminum oxide. Then the material is sent to the reactor, where the catalyst is located - nickel or ruthenium. In the reactor, the porous support had to be heated in order for it to give off carbon dioxide, which is mixed with the hydrogen already obtained during electrolysis. As noted by Zhanna Veselovskaya, a researcher at the Institute of Catalysis, “The peculiarity is that it is proposed to take carbon dioxide directly from the air - instead of absorbing it from the smoke of thermal power plants running on hydrocarbon fuels. The material we have developed has shown itself well in comparison with others. Speaking about the novelty of our work, for the development of which a grant from the Russian Science Foundation was given, it should be noted that potassium carbonate interacts with carbon dioxide in air. This fact is well known and not discovered by us. Sorbents based on potassium carbonate have also been studied earlier. At the same time, there was practically no work on the use of these materials for the sorption of carbon dioxide from the air”.
The resulting fuel can be used to heat rooms or fuel vehicles. The technology makes it possible to produce methane where an electric generator is located, powered by an alternative energy source. This will be very valuable in hard-to-reach areas where fuel is difficult and expensive to deliver due to the terrain.
Based on materials from Interfax agency
