A new electrode design developed at MIT boosts the efficiency of electrochemical reactions that turn carbon dioxide into ethylene and other products.
  • Rhaedas@fedia.io
    3·
    1 month ago

    Permanent materials that won’t degrade quickly would be far more beneficial for the goal, as it truly captures and removes the carbon from the cycle that feeds warming. Fuels, not so much, as the only good part is it supposedly replaces fossil fuels from the ground (i.e. new carbon), so less of a true impact on carbon in the environment. But will it be at a competitive cost to even make a large difference?

    • Hamartiogonic
      2·
      1 month ago

      This thing produces ethylene, so there’s a huge temptation to use it for CCU, instead of CCS. I guess you could still turn that into more stable forms, such as plastic, but don’t we already have too much of that.

        • Hamartiogonic
          2·
          1 month ago

          Carbon Capture and Utilization = Capture the CO2, turn it into fuel, burn it and return to square one of the climate crisis.

          Carbon Capture and Storage = Basically like digging up coal and burning it, but in reverse. The end result is less CO2 in the atmosphere and more carbon locked away underground.