One grand two-fer for the environment

By any name, greenhouse gases are a problem. Connect them to climate change, global warming, or plain old air pollution, and however opinions shake out, we can all agree these effects of society’s industrialization can’t continue at current levels.

But what if that nasty stuff could be recycled?

The idea isn’t as far-fetched as it once seemed. Researchers at University of Central Florida are excited about an experiment with blue light-induced (“photocatalytic”) chemical reactions that turn carbon dioxide into a building block of fuel. If things work out — it’s early-days yet — planet-harming CO2 emissions could be recycled into usable fuel.

Imagine the problems that could solve — a two-fer of clean air and environmentally friendly fuel source. Solar power is considered the cleanest, most reliable form of renewable energy.

Plants already recycle CO2 into oxygen using photosynthesis. That’s what inspired researchers to imitate the process to create solar fuels, using the sun to kick-start the necessary chemical reaction. To make solar fuels, light is used as an energy source, converting solar energy into chemical energy.

Light absorption is central to the process, working a lot like photosynthesis. But instead of breaking down CO2 and sunlight to make oxygen and plant food, the light and CO2 are turned into usable solar fuel.

This idea isn’t new; scientists have worked on it for years. It’s been a challenge because while UV light would work, that’s only 4 percent of what reaches Earth — not enough for practical supply. So past efforts used rare or expensive metals that could capture the more common, visible light. Too financially impractical.

UCF Assistant Professor of Chemistry Fernando Uribe-Romo’s breakthrough was discovering that cheaper titanium can be tailored to absorb a specific color of the sun’s visible light spectrum, such as the common blue of tanning beds. His results were published in the April Journal of Materials Chemistry A.

Uribe-Romo is still experimenting, but says he envisions conversion stations positioned next to power plants, capturing large amounts of CO2 to recycle them into fuel. The fuel might even be used to power the same plant — a circle of light to energy, not unlike nature itself.

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Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at Sholeh@cdapress.com.