New battery to cut the Green House gas emission

The making

• Researchers of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a battery from carbon dioxide captured from power plants. Unlike converting carbon dioxide into chemical using metal catalyst. To the contrast this battery can convert carbon dioxide into a non-aqueous mineral carbonate as it discharges.

Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
The above picture is the scanning from electron microscope showing carbon cathode carbon-dioxide based battery

  

• This battery is made up of lithium metal, carbon and electrolyte, designed by the researchers of MIT. Currently, power plants releasing carbon dioxide during the electricity generation process, uses 30% of the total electricity in capturing, releasing and storage of carbon dioxide. So, to  make it more cost effective, the researchers captured the this by-product for a better purpose. This not only make it economically feasible but more eco-friendly by lowering the greenhouse gas emission.

The approach

• Carbon dioxide is not very reactive. So, to perform significant reaction for carbon dioxide is through providing high voltage input, which can be very expensive and unreliable. Better Gallant an assistant professor at MIT and her co-workers who has expertise in non-aqueous electrochemical reaction, looked into that whether the carbon dioxide captured can be made as carbon-dioxide-loaded electrolyte - which as a basic component of a battery - so the captured carbon dioxide can be used to produce power output during its discharge.

• Recently interests had grown in lithium-carbon-dioxide batteries, which uses gas as a reactant during discharge, but carbon dioxide being a low reactor component has n=made more and more use of metal catalysts, which is very expensive. But a way has been discovered through which we can achieve electrochemical carbon dioxide by just using carbon electrode. The way is to preactivate the carbon dioxide by mixing with amine solution.

• The above process is made possible through collaboration of two different classification of chemistry - aqueous amine and non-aqueous battery electrolytes. But the battery requires much more development as the battery's life cycle is only 10 charge-discharge cycles. Moreover, research is needed in improved rechargeability and prevention from degradation of the cell components.

Prioritizing Atmosphere

• Keeping in mind the common goal worldwide of reducing greenhouse gas emission, capturing carbon dioxide is a major footstep against emission free environment. Though there are many ways to eradicate the greenhouse gas emission such as, dumping the gas underground, it is far from successful as there is a limit to this disposal, also it requires extra energy for dumping and pumping.

• The researchers are trying to achieve a continues process by streaming the carbon dioxide under the pressure with amine solution rather than a preloaded solution which was done before and a steady power supply. The researchers said that this is a multi way process of both capturing the carbon dioxide from the power plants and converting it into the electrolyte material that will be used in the batteries.