Researchers are working on a technology that could convert carbon dioxide into a clean fuel, reducing the amount of harmful greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere.
Funded through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council the project aims to develop a process for converting waste CO2 captured from industrial processes and use it for fuel production.
The technology is based on the use of energy from biological and electro-chemical sources. First, the organic matter in wastewater is broken down by microbes, generating a small amount of electric energy.
This energy is then used to convert CO2 to formate – a derivative of formic acid, which goes through a SimCell reactor – a specialised reactor containing micro-organisms, where it is transformed into a liquid fuel that the research team hope could be used for transport and heating.
Led by Newcastle University, the four-year project brings together a team of researchers from the universities of Oxford, Sheffield, Surrey, and South Wales, as well as industrial partners including Northumbrian Water and Tata Steel.
Dr Eileen Yu, from the School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, is the project’s Principal Investigator, said: “Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide are at their highest level ever and expected to increase because we are still so reliant on fossil fuels. We need to have ways of dealing with CO2 emissions, and if we can harness it as a fuel source instead of allowing it to go into the atmosphere, CO2 then becomes a resource rather than a waste product.
“There is growing evidence that electrochemical and biological processes can be combined with organisms to convert chemical energy to fuel but it is still early days so the challenge now is to take the technology further.”
The development comes as a report suggests that a significant majority of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) want their energy supplier to be more committed to renewable energy.
The report, commissioned by Haven Power, revealed that while 72% say they would like energy suppliers to be more committed to renewables, only 11% would rate their current energy supplier as excellent when it comes to renewable energy support and options.
Jonathan Kini, Chief Executive of Haven Power, said: “That so many SMEs are dissatisfied with their existing energy supplier is perhaps unsurprising, but the sheer scale of the discontent revealed in this report remains shocking. SMEs want more from their supplier and a commitment to renewable energy is one of the demands they are pushing for. “
