
Researchers accidentally turn carbon dioxide into ethanol - ProZsolt
https://www.engadget.com/2016/10/18/researchers-accidentally-turn-carbon-dioxide-into-ethanol/
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carapace
If I understand this correctly this is huge.

> "When exposed to carbon dioxide and a small electrical charge, this catalyst
> sets off an complex chain reaction that essentially reverses the combustion
> process and converts the gas into liquid ethanol. What's more, because the
> catalyst is so small, there is virtually no side reactions so the ethanol is
> quite pure. I mean, you wouldn't want to make a martini with it but it can
> go straight into a generator and work. Plus, the entire reaction works at
> room temperature." (sic)

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tsomctl
Depends on what the efficiency is, and how hard it is to manufacture the
catalyst. The catalyst is made of carbon, copper, and nitrogen, so it there
won't be a problem of needing exotic materials. It would be even more
impressive if you could run it in reverse, to generate electricity. The actual
paper states the efficiency is 63%, so this combined with solar panels is more
efficient than growing corn.

Original press release: [https://www.ornl.gov/news/nano-spike-catalysts-
convert-carbo...](https://www.ornl.gov/news/nano-spike-catalysts-convert-
carbon-dioxide-directly-ethanol) The paper itself:
[http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/slct.201601169/fu...](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/slct.201601169/full)

