Researchers have developed a system that can convert plastic waste and greenhouse gases into sustainable fuels and other valuable products using only energy from the sun.
Solar power technology, which could help tackle plastic pollution and greenhouse gases simultaneously, could be a game-changer in developing a circular economy
Subhajit Bhattacharjee
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a system that can simultaneously convert two waste streams into two chemical products. This has been achieved for the first time in a photovoltaic nuclear reactor.
This reactor converts carbon dioxide (CO2) and plastics into a variety of products that are useful in various industries. In tests, CO2 was converted into syngas, a key building block for sustainable liquid fuels, and plastic bottles were converted into glycolic acid, which is widely used in the cosmetics industry. The system can be easily tuned to produce different products by changing the type of catalyst used in the reactor.
Using solar energy to transform plastics and greenhouse gases, two of the greatest threats facing nature, into useful and valuable products is a key part of the transition to a more sustainable circular economy. Important step.Results published in journal natural synthetic.
“Using solar energy to transform waste into useful things is a major goal of our research,” said senior author Yusuf Hamid, Professor Erwin Leissner of the Department of Chemistry. . “Plastic pollution is a huge problem globally and often, much of the plastic we throw into recycling bins ends up incinerated or landfilled.”
Reisner also heads the Cambridge Circular Plastics Center (CirPlas). CirPlas aims to end plastic waste by combining blue sky thinking with practical action.
Other solar “recycling” technologies have the potential to combat plastic pollution and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but to date they have not been combined in a single process. not.
“Photovoltaic technology, which could help tackle plastic pollution and greenhouse gases simultaneously, could be a game-changer in developing a circular economy,” said Subhajit Bhattacharjee, co-first author of the paper. said.
“It should also be tunable so that it can be easily changed depending on the desired end product,” says co-first author Dr. Motiar Rahaman.
Researchers have developed an integrated reactor with two separate compartments, one for plastics and one for greenhouse gases. The reactor uses light absorbers based on perovskite, a promising alternative to silicon for next-generation solar cells.
The team designed various catalysts integrated into light absorbers. By changing the catalyst, researchers were able to change the end product. Tests of the reactor under normal temperature and pressure conditions show that the reactor efficiently converts PET plastic bottles and CO2 into various carbon-based fuels such as CO, syngas and formic acid in addition to glycolic acid. It was shown to be convertible. A Cambridge-developed reactor produced these products at a much higher rate than conventional photocatalytic CO2 abatement processes.
“Usually converting CO2 takes a lot of energy, but with our system, you basically just put light on it and it starts converting harmful products into useful and sustainable ones.” says Rahaman. “Before this system, nothing was capable of selectively and efficiently manufacturing high-value products.”
“What’s very special about this system is its versatility and tunability. Right now we’re making fairly simple carbon-based molecules, but in the future we’ll be able to tune the system and make catalysts. Just by changing it, we may be able to create much more complex products,” said Bhattacharyjee.
Reisner recently received new funding from the European Research Council to help develop solar-powered nuclear reactors. Over the next five years, we hope to further develop the reactor to produce more complex molecules. Researchers say similar technology could one day be used to develop a fully solar-powered recycling plant.
“If we are to meaningfully address the climate change crisis and protect the natural world, it is imperative to develop a circular economy that makes useful things out of waste, rather than dumping it in landfills.” Reisner said. “And using the sun to power these solutions means we are doing it cleanly and sustainably.”
Original: Solar power system converts plastic and greenhouse gases into sustainable fuel
Than: Cambridge University
