A catalyst for carbon dioxide recycling, Mineral pentlandite may also be a conceivable alternative to expensive precious metal catalysts. This is the result of a study conducted by researchers from Ruhr-Universitat Bochum (RUB), Fritz-Haber Institute Berlin and Fraunhofer Umsicht in Oberhausen.

Pentlandite had previously been known as a catalyst for hydrogen production. By adding a suitable solvent, the researchers successfully utilised it to convert carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide. The latter is a common source material in the chemical industry.

The research team headed by Dr. Ulf-Peter Apfel, Chair of Inorganic Chemistry I in Bochum, describes the findings together with their colleagues in the journal Chemical Science from 5 November 2018.

CO2 conversion replaces hydrogen production
"The conversion of CO2 into valuable source materials for the chemical industry is a promising approach to combatting climate change," says Ulf-Peter Apfel. "However, we currently don't know many cheap and readily available catalysts for CO2 reduction."

Moreover, potentially suitable catalysts primarily facilitate another chemical reaction, i.e. the synthesis of hydrogen - these including pentlandite. Nevertheless, the researchers have successfully converted the mineral to be a CO2 catalyst.

They generated electrodes from pentlandite and analysed under which conditions production of hydrogen or carbon monoxide took place at their surface.

"The decisive factor was water being present at the electrode surface," summarises Ulf-Peter Apfel. A lot of water shifted the reaction towards hydrogen production, a little water towards carbon monoxide production. By adjusting the water content, the researchers were thus able to generate carbon monoxide and hydrogen mixtures. "Synthetic gas mixtures like this one play a crucial role in the chemical industry," points out Apfel.

Stabile catalyst
Pentlandite consists of iron, nickel and sulphur and resembles catalytically active enzyme centres that occur in nature, such as hydrogen-producing hydrogenases. "A huge advantage of this mineral is the fact that it remains stable when confronted with other chemical compounds that occur in industrial emissions and are poison to many catalysts," explains Apfel.

Research paper

Related Links
Ruhr-University Bochum
Bio Fuel Technology and Application News

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Human excrement efficiently converted to hydrochar
Beer-Sheva, Israel (SPX) Nov 16, 2018
Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) demonstrated for the first time that raw human excrement can potentially be converted to a safe, reusable fuel and a nutrient rich fertilizer, solving two major worldwide issues in advance of World Toilet Day on November 19. According to the groundbreaking pilot study published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, researchers at BGU's Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research have refined a process using hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) to h ... read more