Chromatography and CO2 reduction

Question

How can chromatography and CO2 reduction help combat climate change? I know that chromatography is a technique for the separation of a mixture but I don’t how it might help in combating the climate change? And also how does the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to produce more valuable chemicals and fuels work?

Doing a presentation about these 2 questions so any answer/info is much appreciated!

Answer 1

Hello, Sesan,

I agree with you that I don't usually hear chromatography and climate change in the same paragraph. But the connection that comes to mind might be the research into materials that can absorb CO₂ and trap it from gases. The same properties that make chromatography packings useful would also find utility in designing CO₂ absorbing materials. I can't immediately point to research that explicity embodies this connection, but the ideas are the same. Design a surface that attracts certain molecules over others.

With respect to the use of electrochemistry to reduce CO₂ to useful hydrocarbons, the basic idea is to use electrons as one of the reactants in a chemical trnsformation. In this case, electrons are added to a solution containing the CO₂ and a source of H atoms, typically an acidic aqueous solution. The reaction equation would look something like this:

CO₂ + H⁺ + e^- = hydrocarbon + [O₂ + H₂] (not a balanced equation)

I put the oxygen and hydrogen in brackets because they are unintended byproducts that can occur at the electrode. If no oxygen is released, it must be converted, along with the carbon, into the hydrocarbon. Examples products might include CH₄, C₂H₄, C₂H₆, and HCOOH,among many others.

The concept of using electrons from an electrical circuit to provide an oxidizing source is not new. But it can be expensive.

Bob