Nanotech Wafer Turns Carbon Dioxide Into Ethanol
17th October 2016
Scientists have found a way to take everyone’s least favorite greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, and mix it with water to create alcohol.
A research team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee developed a way to convert carbon dioxide into ethanol–and they did it by accident. Originally, they were hoping to convert carbon dioxide that had been dissolved in water to methanol, a chemical released naturally by volcanic gases and microbes, which can cause blindness in humans if ingested.
But instead of methanol, they discovered they had ethanol, a primary component of gin and also a potential fuel source. Surprised, the team realized that not only was their new material converting the carbon dioxide to ethanol, it needed very little outside support.