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/worldspawn00 Aug 06 '20

If sequestration is the goal, you can much easier convert CO2 to carbonate and dump it in the deep ocean. This would be adding a lot of unnecessary steps to the process of converting CO2 to a solid to go all the way to a polymer.

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u/KuntaStillSingle Aug 06 '20

Ocean doesn't have unlimited capacity for co2 without killing sea life

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u/worldspawn00 Aug 06 '20

carbonate is stable and shouldn't end up dissolving into the water, the sea floor is already covered in it mostly in the form of calcium carbonate sand from the break down of coral and mollusks.