In Short

• The new chemical production method is cheaper, less energy-hungry, and more sustainable.
• Researchers produce ethylene glycol while also capturing CO₂ during the same process.
• At present, ethylene glycol is produced globally at about 30 million tonnes per year, with a massive environmental impact.

New research has become a breakthrough in the chemical production industry, which is under mounting pressure to reduce costs, energy use, and carbon emissions.

Professor Ted Sargent and his research team at Northwestern University in the US have developed a new electrochemical system that addresses all challenges mentioned above.

They can produce ethylene glycol, which is a chemical widely used in antifreeze and as a building block for plastics and polymers, in a more sustainable and cleaner way.

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Their new system combines chemical production with carbon capture and performs two functions simultaneously: 1) producing ethylene glycol, and 2) capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) during the process, which is then stored or reused. This new method will help the industry reduce waste and decarbonise its processes.

A critical part of the discovery is the use of a special membrane with a pH difference, designed to improve the system’s ability to capture CO₂ efficiently and retain high productivity levels.

In contrast, traditional methods of electrochemical carbon capture face low efficiency and high energy needs. To resolve these issues, the new approach works at power and efficiency levels comparable to the best carbon capture technologies available today.

The system can capture 0.6 tonnes of CO₂ for every tonne of ethylene glycol produced, using only 10 gigajoules of energy per tonne. At present, the industry consumes about 22.6 gigajoules and releases around 1.2 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of ethylene glycol. The good news is that the new method cuts that release down to just 0.13 tonnes.

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The environmental impact of chemical manufacturing is enormous, as ethylene glycol is produced globally at about 30 million tonnes per year. However, this technology, a new advancement in the industry, if used extensively, could slash global emissions significantly.

Not just that, the research team, along with industry partners, is also exploring how the system can be applied to other chemical manufacturing processes, with the goal of making the entire sector more energy-efficient and low-carbon

To learn more about the research, click here.

Ends/

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Source: Northwestern University