A College of Alberta researcher has developed higher methods to transform carbon dioxide, a dangerous greenhouse fuel, and glycerol, a leftover of biodiesel manufacturing, into value-added supplies with wide-ranging makes use of together with liquid hydrogen storage.
The pair of procedures, which will probably be examined on a bigger scale for industry-level viability, symbolize an essential step ahead in sustainability, says Yanet Rodriguez Herrero, who performed the work to earn a PhD in bioresource know-how and meals engineering from the College of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences.
“We’ve damaged a barrier when it comes to bettering tough conversion processes and making them extra environment friendly.”
Although CO2 is a significant contributor to local weather change, it additionally has potential to be transformed into methanol, a extremely useful chemical that can be utilized in a number of industrial purposes together with automotive, digital, clothes, adhesives, paints and coatings, packaging, solvents, prescribed drugs and agricultural chemical compounds.
Methanol additionally holds promise as a way of transporting and storing hydrogen in liquid type.
However one of many main obstacles to efficiently changing CO2 into methanol is the water shaped as a byproduct in the course of the hydrogenation course of, which deactivates a catalyst wanted for the transformation.
Utilizing nanotechnology, Herrero efficiently developed a course of within the lab to arrange a secure catalyst that has the flexibility to repel water so it really works effectively at low strain and temperature, making the conversion much less energy-intensive and extra economically environment friendly.
As soon as the method will be efficiently scaled up to be used by {industry}, it might imply direct utilization of enormous quantities of CO2 that has been captured and saved, together with its potential for liquid hydrogen storage, says Aman Ullah, a professor within the College of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences who supervised Herrero’s work.
“The conversion of CO2 into varied value-added merchandise could be a extra logical thought to cut back emissions, with large advantages for the chemical {industry}.”
The brand new course of additionally “opens the door” for bettering different catalytic chemical conversion processes which are deactivated by water, reminiscent of ammonia synthesis, Herrero notes.
“It’s tough to search out catalytic helps which are thermally secure and water repellent. In reaching that, our course of might be very helpful to manufacturing different merchandise reminiscent of ammonia and catalytic converters,” she says, including {that a} patent software is underway for the brand new course of.
Equally, glycerol — a thick, colorless and odorless liquid — holds potential for use within the meals, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, however not in its crude type. Glycerol is the primary byproduct left behind from manufacturing biodiesel and compounds referred to as oleochemicals derived from vegetable and animal oil and fats. However it’s costly to purify, making it too expensive for large-scale industrial use.
To assist overcome that problem, Herrero developed a patented course of to transform the crude glycerol into monomers. The chemical compounds are essential in creating polymers — artificial substances with a variety of makes use of, reminiscent of making biopolymers for the consolidation of fluid nice tailings (FFT). Gradual consolidation of FFT has been recognized as the most important problem for the oilsands {industry} towards sustainable reclamation.
The biopolymers created by means of Herrero’s course of proved simpler in consolidating tailings and bettering water restoration in comparison with PAM, a polymer at present being examined by the useful resource {industry}, the analysis confirmed.
The conversion course of may assist the biodiesel {industry} deal with an rising query, as manufacturing ramps up, of learn how to make use of the glycerol, Ullah notes.
“The {industry} is dealing with the dilemma, on the one hand, of learn how to meet a rising demand for biofuels, whereas additionally managing extreme crude glycerol so it doesn’t pose a risk to the atmosphere.”
Through the course of their analysis, Herrero and Ullah additionally investigated sustainability as an extra side of the conversion course of.
By evaluating the usage of a microwave heating course of with standard heating sources reminiscent of hotplates, they confirmed that utilizing microwave know-how was greater than 16 instances much less energy-intensive than standard heating sources. The method is at present being utilized by an Edmonton-based biorefining firm to supply chemical compounds extra effectively utilizing lipids and waste glycerol.
Collectively, the entire analysis outcomes present promising advantages to the power, hydrogen, biofuel, meals and chemical industries, Ullah says.
“By probably providing sustainable options for creating value-added merchandise, our processes present a win-win scenario economically and environmentally.”
The analysis was funded by the Pure Sciences and Engineering Analysis Council of Canada and Alberta Innovates, and in-kind assist from SBI BioEnergy Inc.
