Rice University engineers use copper cubes as a catalyst for the new reactor to convert carbon monoxide to acetic acid. according to New atlas, copper cubes as a catalyst make the new reactor relatively simple to operate and allow it to last for a long time to turn unwanted waste gas into an industrially useful product.
Carbon monoxide is a by-product of industrial processes that can be indoor or urban damage to human health. However, it will not exactly be a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Acetic acid, on the other hand, is the tang in grapes and is frequently used in food, antiseptic, solvent, and various industrial processes and products.
Therefore, it is practical to turn the harmful waste into something that is industrially useful. They published their study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Nanosize copper tubes as a Catalyst for the New Reactor
(Photo: PNAS)
Schematic picture of CO reduction to true acetic acid in our solid electrolyte cell. The true acetic acid product can be formed by ionic resorption of cross-linked ions in the middle layer and produced by the flow of DI water. Screenshot from PNAS / Peng Zhou, et. al.
Biomolecular engineers Haotian Wang and Thomas Senftle of the Brown Rice School of Engineering were inspired by a device previously used to convert carbon dioxide into formic acid. In their laboratories, the electrochemical process helped resolve issues in that machine, which required additional measures to make the machine environment friendly.
“We’re updating the product from a single-carbon chemical, the formic acid, to two-carbon, which is more challenging,” Wang said. “People traditionally make acetic acid in dissolved electrolytes, but they still question low performance as well as separating the product from the electrolyte.”
The environmentally friendly device now uses nanoscale copper cubes and a special solid state electrolyte as a catalyst. It dissolved 2% acetic acid in water after 150 hours of continuous surgery, Science Daily reported.
Wang said there are times when the copper cubes would produce chemicals other than acetic acid, such as alcohols. As a solution, they engineered the copper cubes directly to one side, which could help the carbon-carbon cable to direct it to produce just acetic acid and not other products.
Then as they add deionized water to the reactor, it mixes with acetic acid and forms a usable solution. A new Atlas said the gas left in the process is released as oxygen.
WHAT YOU CAN: Catalist researchers developed the “Swiss Army Knife” from 10 different elements
Good demonstration of how theory and experiment interact
According to Senftle their project is a good testament to how well hat theory should perform mesh theory because it is an example of how the levels of engineering might fit into nano- molecular technology to show how it can be scaled up to real devices in the world. The researchers were able to insert parts of a reactor all the way down to the equipment at the atomic level.
In the next step of making a system scalable, they plan to improve the stability of the system and further reduce the energy requirement for the process, according to Wang.
SITE MORE: [LOOK] The world’s smallest 3D printed spaceship and spacecraft
Check out more news and information on Nanotechnology on the Science Times.