r/science • u/Wagamaga • Aug 06 '20

Chemistry Turning carbon dioxide into liquid fuel. Scientists have discovered a new electrocatalyst that converts carbon dioxide (CO2) and water into ethanol with very high energy efficiency, high selectivity for the desired final product and low cost.

https://www.anl.gov/article/turning-carbon-dioxide-into-liquid-fuel
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u/awitcheskid Aug 06 '20

So does this mean that we could potentially capture CO2 from the atmosphere and slow down climate change?

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u/mrnoonan81 Aug 06 '20

I'm not an expert, but it would seem to stand to reason that even with a 100% efficient process of converting it to fuel would still require the same amount of energy you would get from the fuel to create it, which is probably approximately equal to the energy we already got from it.

In other words, in order to undo what we've done, it would take as much clean energy as dirty. We'd be paying back the loan. Realistically with interest.

I'm sure there's a clearer way to put that. I'm sorry.

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u/optimus420 Aug 06 '20

It would actually take more energy due to the 2nd law of thermodynamics (you essentially cant have a 100% truely efficient system, some energy is always lost to entropy)

However with things like solar getting energy isnt as big of deal as it used to be

One major drawback to renewables is that they're intermittent so you need a way to store that energy. This would be one way