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Looking for a technology that can turn greenhouse gas CO2 into a valuable commodity has always been an unattainable dream. But now a team of chemists claims that they have succeeded in inventing a low-cost conversion technology that can directly convert CO2 into high-value carbon nanotubes as industrial and civil products. At the 250th American Society of Chemicals (ACS) National Conference and Exhibition, a team of chemists will present new technologies for the capture and use of CO2.
“We have found a way to use the CO2 in the atmosphere to produce high-yielding carbon nanofibers,†said Dr. Stuart Licht, who led a research team at George Washington University. "This nanofiber can be used to make super carbon composites - it can be used in Boeing Dreamliner, high-end sports equipment, wind turbine blades and most other products."
The research team has reported the preparation of fertilizers and cements without CO2. Today, the team showed that their research could turn CO2 from a global warming problem into a hot carbon nanofiber preparation material.
Licht called his method "diamonds from the atmosphere." This not only indicates that carbon can be used to make diamonds, it can also be used to make high-value products, such as the use of carbon and oxygen in the atmosphere to make nano-carbon fibers.
This synthesis method is efficient and energy-efficient, requiring only a few volts of electricity, sunlight, and a large amount of CO2. In essence, it is the use of electrolysis to synthesize carbon nanofibers. Because CO2 decomposes in a high temperature molten carbonate bath at 1380F (750°C). The air is charged into the electrolytic cell, and the CO2 rapidly decomposes at a high temperature and under the direct current of the nickel and iron electrodes to generate nano-carbon fibers on the iron electrode, which can be removed and collected on the iron electrode.
The highly efficient concentrating solar energy mixing system generates heat energy and electric energy to provide energy for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes. Specifically, by concentrating sunlight, on the one hand, photovoltaic solar cells generate electricity, and on the other hand, the second system generates heat and heat energy to increase the temperature of the electrolytic cell.
Licht predicts that the energy cost of this solar thermochemical process required to produce one ton of carbon nanofibers is approximately $1,000, which means that the operating cost of the system is hundreds of times smaller than the output value of the product.
Licht said that we predict that the use of this synthetic system will not require solar energy with a solar radiation area of ​​10% of the area of ​​the Sahara desert, and that it will be able to convert enough CO2 to bring it down to the atmospheric level during the first decade of the industrial revolution.
The synthetic system is currently experimental, and Licht's biggest challenge will be to improve the synthesis process and gain experience in producing uniformly sized nanofibers. "We are rapidly expanding the scale," he added, "and soon we can reach an industry scale that produces tens of grams of nanofiber per hour."
Licht said that the team has made a progress that can further reduce the energy consumption of carbon fiber synthesis. Explaining that this kind of recent synthesis technology can make the nanometer carbon fiber grow under 750 °C under 1 volt environment, for example, that is far below 1000 °C, 3-5 volts voltage condition of industrial preparation aluminum.
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