Solar-powered machine transforms CO2 and plastic into sustainable fuels

Em article published in the scientific journal Nature Synthesis (🇬🇧), the team involved in the project explains that the photoelectrochemical system can transform by-products with high environmental impact, like CO2 and plastics, in useful and sustainable materials, with the ability to work with several resources at the same time.

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Article by @_Subhajit5, @RahamanM_Chem and co-workers at @ReisnerLab @ChemCambridge @Cambridge_Uni @stjohnscam

Photoelectrochemical CO2-to-fuel conversion with simultaneous plastic reforminghttps://t.co/i28YKsPkgZ ($)
— Nature Synthesis (@NatureSynthesis) January 10, 2023

In tests carried out by the researchers, the system was able to transform plastic bottles and CO2 in various types of fuels and other compounds considered valuable – for example, synthetic gas (an essential element of sustainable liquid fuels) and glycolic acid (a chemical widely used by skin care companies).

“Converting waste into something useful using solar energy is one of the main goals of our research,” said Professor Erwin Reisner, author of the study, in a university press release. “Plastic pollution is a huge problem around the world, and often a lot of the plastic we throw in trash bins is incinerated or ends up in landfill.” (Futurism*)

Recycling of the future

The expectation is that, in the next 5 years, researchers will be able to discover how to use the reactor to reuse, recycle and transform more complex particles into green materials. In the future, they believe the technology could be used to power an all-solar recycling plant. Too much, right? 😍

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