24.09.2007
Researchers from the university and Toyo University in Japan have developed a system that could recycle carbon dioxide (CO2), the greenhouse gas blamed for global warming. The breakthrough is published in this month's New Journal of Physics *.
Experiments carried out by scientists from both universities show that CO2 gas can be transformed into a non-polluting carbon solid. Dr Raymond Whitby from the University of Brighton along with Takahiro Fukuda and Professor Toru Maekawa from Toyo University made the discovery when looking at the formation of solid structures from fluids in their critical state.
The scientists found that by filling an aluminum cell with CO2, increasing the pressure to its critical point and firing a laser repeatedly into the critical fluid, resulted in columns of nano and micro-scale carbon. Essentially CO2 is transformed into non-polluting carbon (pictured right).
Professor Toru Maekawa remarked: "It's a fantastic result, but we recognise there is still a long way to go."
The teams are now working towards understanding the underlying mechanisms of the CO2 conversion. Dr Whitby, from the University of Brighton, said: "If the technology can be developed, it is envisaged that CO2 exhaust can be piped directly into reactors to be converted. This could have obvious applications for some of the world's biggest polluters including oil refineries and coal-fired power stations."
Professor Sergey Mikhalovsky, from the University of Brighton and advisor on the project, said: "Currently there is no satisfactory solution available for dealing with CO2 emissions and we should look in all possible directions. This solution, albeit unexpected, may give us such an opportunity. It is also an example of benefits offered by international collaboration."
* "Dissociation of carbon dioxide and creation of carbon particles and films at room temperature", Takahiro Fukuda, Toru Maekawa, Takashi Hasumura, Nyrki Rantonen, Koji Ishii, Yoshikata Nakajima, Tatsuro Hanajiri, Yoshikazu Yoshida, Raymond Whitby and Sergey Mikhalovsky, New Journal of Physics 9 (2007) 321. Received 16 May 2007, Published 10 September 2007, doi:10.1088/1367-2630/9/9/321.
Contact: Marketing and Communications, University of Brighton, 01273 643022
