Swansea scientists use copper and polyamide in catalyst to make ethylene from carbon dioxide

Researchers at the Energy Safety Research Institute at Swansea University have developed a new catalyst to convert carbon dioxide into a polymer base.

The ESRI team has made ethylene from waste carbon dioxide, offering a way to use the half a billion tonnes of carbon emitted each year, offsetting global carbon emissions.

Dr Enrico Andreoli, research leader, said: “Carbon dioxide is responsible for much of the damage caused to our environment. Considerable research focuses on capturing and storing harmful carbon dioxide emissions. But an alternative to expensive long-term storage is to use the captured carbon dioxide as a resource to make useful materials.

That’s why at Swansea we have converted waste carbon dioxide into a molecule called ethylene. Ethylene is one of the most widely used molecules in the chemical industry and is the starting material in the manufacture of detergents, synthetic lubricants, and the vast majority of plastics like polyethylene, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride essential to modern society.”

The carbon conversion process is based on a new catalyst, which Andreoli explained: “We have demonstrated that copper and a polyamide additive can be combined to make an excellent catalyst for carbon dioxide use. The polyamide doubles the efficiency of ethylene formation achieving one of the highest rates of conversion ever recorded in standard bicarbonate water solutions.”

The research has been published in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Catalysis.