Carbon Dioxide Liquid Fuel Reactor

The problem of industrial waste disposal,containing carbon dioxide, takes global proportions. Engineers from Rice University of America in Houston, have developed a unique installation for the conversion of carbon dioxide into liquid fuel based on formic acid. In this case, the acid itself is a simple carrier of hydrogen, the compression of which in a gaseous state is technically difficult to carry out, and in concentrated formic acid, hydrogen contains 1000 times more per unit volume.

At the heart of formic acid generation technologytwo exclusive inventions from carbon dioxide were used: the use of solid electrolytes and the use of bismuth catalyst. The use of solid polymer-based electrolytes guarantees minimal impurities and eliminates the need for additional purification of formic acid.

Bismuth has recently begun to mine without highcosts. Therefore, scientists decided to use a multilayer bismuth lattice as a catalyst, when passing through which carbon dioxide is transformed into a negatively charged formate molecule. In the next step, the molecule penetrates into the electrolyte, where it comes into contact with the ion by hydrogen, formed from a catalytic reaction with water. The result is a 30% solution of formic acid.