Researchers are developing a solar reactor that converts waste and CO₂ into e-fuels
Created: 01/16/2023, 12:15 p.m
By: Ulrike Hagen
British researchers have developed technology that uses solar energy to convert plastic waste and greenhouse gases into sustainable fuels.
Cambridge – It's a minor sensation: Scientists at the elite Cambridge University in Great Britain have developed a technique to convert plastic waste and CO₂ into sustainable fuels using solar energy, as reported by
kreiszeitung.de
.
The system developed by chemists could play a decisive role in the development of a circular economy - and tackle the huge problem of plastic pollution - of the irreversible consequences of plastic waste, including in the sea, experts have been warning for some time.
Scientists from the University of Cambridge have developed a technique to convert plastic waste and CO₂ into sustainable fuels using solar energy.
(Iconic image) © Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa/Iconic image
Researchers are developing a solar reactor that converts waste and CO₂ into e-fuels
The innovative technology was devised by the team from the
Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry
led by Professor Erwin Reisner.
Waste is converted into chemical products with the help of solar energy, which also powers an electric car that is now being mass-produced.
In the process, two waste streams – namely greenhouse gases and plastics – are converted in parallel into two sustainable fuels – namely synthesis gas and glycolic acid.
Synthesis gas is used in industry primarily in the production of so-called e-fuels, i.e. synthetic fuels as alternatives to petrol and diesel.
Solar Reactor: Pioneering system to combat plastic waste
"Turning waste into something useful using solar energy is a key goal of our research," says Professor Erwin Reisner, lead author of the study, which was published in the journal
Nature Synthesis
.
"Plastic pollution is a big problem around the world, and often a lot of the plastic that we put in the recycling bin is incinerated or ends up in landfill," said Reisner.
According to the UN Environment Program, an estimated 300 million tons of plastic waste are produced every year - an incredible amount roughly equivalent to the weight of the human population.
A historical point was already reached in 2020: Since then, the mass of all man-made, i.e. artificial, substances has exceeded the global, natural biomass.
Only 9 percent of the plastic waste is recycled, the rest ends up in landfills or pollutes our oceans with microplastics.
Researchers are now warning of bacterial hotspots on microplastics in the sea.
Solar-powered technology, which could help tackle plastic pollution and greenhouse gases, could be a game-changer for the development of a circular economy.
Subhajit Bhattacharjee, University of Cambridge
Chemical recycling is an approach to processing plastic waste - and turning it into products for the production of fuel.
Until now, however, this process has required extremely high temperatures, is associated with high costs and is not particularly efficient.
New solar-powered technology could change that, and now offers hope that a huge problem may be closer to being solved.
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Solar energy turns PET bottles and CO₂ into e-fuels
For example, CO₂ is converted into syngas, a key component of sustainable liquid fuels, while plastic bottles are used to produce glycolic acid, which is widely used in the cosmetics industry.
The system can be tuned to convert waste into different products by changing the type of catalyst used in the reactor.
The researchers developed a reactor with two separate chambers: one for plastic and one for greenhouse gases.
© University of Cambridge/Nature
Circular economy: Solar-powered machine turns CO₂ and waste into fuel
The researchers see this as a unique opportunity to convert plastic waste and greenhouse gases - two of nature's biggest polluters - into useful products.
They hope the solar-powered system will be a milestone on the way to a more sustainable, circular economy.
Groundbreaking: Solar-powered recycling system combats greenhouse gases and waste problem
Other similar solar-powered systems are under development, but so far they have not recycled plastic waste and reduced greenhouse gases in a single process.
"Solar-powered technology that simultaneously tackles plastic pollution and greenhouse gases could be a game-changer for the development of a circular economy," says Subhajit Bhattacharjee, co-author of the study.
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"Normally, CO₂ conversion requires a lot of energy, but our system simply needs to be illuminated with light to start converting harmful products into something useful and sustainable," explains chemist Dr.
Motiar Rahaman.
The researchers hope that one day the system can be used to develop a recycling plant powered entirely by solar energy.