Research

Turning greenhouse gas green

Published 1 September 2010

A breakthrough in ways to neutralise greenhouse gas is a step closer thanks to a £150,000 donation from a retired businessman.

British Bookshops and Sussex Stationers founder, Michael Chowen, read a newspaper article about the University of Brighton's research and immediately telephoned the university to commit his support.

He said: "I'm more than excited about this research. It's a dream come true and wonderful to see so much dedicated hard work going into something that is both cutting edge and also that has so much potential to combat global warming.

"This is vital for the future of the planet."

Mr Chowen, a long-term supporter of the university, praised the research team and in particular project research fellow Ortrud Aschenbrenner for her "implementation of what has proved a difficult project".

Dr Ray Whitby, from the university's School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, and Prof Toru Maekawa from the Bio-Nano Electronic Research Centre at Toyo University, Japan, collaboratively developed a system of breaking apart pressurised CO₂ so that at its critical point, firing a laser at the gas separates it into its harmless components of oxygen and carbon.

Dr Whitby said the RoCOCO (Reduction of Critically Opalescent CO₂) project was still in the laboratory stage but he said he hopes to see large-scale trials within the next five years.

Professor Maekawa visited the Michael Chowen Research Laboratory at the University of Brighton (on Tuesday 31 August) along with Michael Chowen who met Professor Maekawa for the first time.

Professor Maekawa said: "The theory has been proven and what we are working on now is a mechanism of making the method feasible." Professor Andrew Lloyd, Dean of the University of Brighton's Faculty of Science and Engineering, said the research was exciting and potentially beneficial for all of mankind, but he stressed there was more work to do.

He said: "The group is continuing to actively seek funds from charities, research councils and other organisations to support the on-going development of this research.

"Currently, philanthropic donations made to universities in England, such as the contribution Michael Chowen made to this project, benefit from a matched funding scheme – for the University of Brighton, this means an additional £1 for every £2 given as a donation."

Dr Ray Whitby, Michael Chowen, Professor Toru Maekawa and Ortrud Aschenbrenner with a laser in the university's Michael Chowen laboratory.