In Germany, a team of microbiologists from Goethe University Frankfurt has found an enzyme in bacteria that live in the absence of air and bind hydrogen directly to CO2, in this way producing formic acid. The process is completely reversible – a basic requirement for hydrogen storage. These acetogenic bacteria, which are found, for example, […]
In Japan, photoreduction of CO2 into transportable fuel like formic acid (HCOOH) is a great way of dealing with CO2’s rising levels in the atmosphere. To aid in this mission, a research team from Tokyo Tech chose an easily available iron-based mineral and loaded it onto an alumina support to develop a catalyst that can […]
In China, Xinhua news agency reports the Guangming Daily newspaper says researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China, the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, and the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics have found a way to make formic acid from carbon dioxide and water at low cost through the […]
In Japan, researchers from Tokyo Institute of Technology developed a new version of the osmium complex which can now absorb full wavelength range of visible light and will act as a panchromatic redox photosensitizer for CO2 reduction. The team combined this complex with a ruthenium (II) catalyst and successfully reduced CO2 into formic acid. Finding […]
In Texas, a catalytic reactor developed by Rice University researchers uses carbon dioxide as its feedstock and, in its latest prototype, produces highly purified and high concentrations of formic acid. Formic acid produced by traditional carbon dioxide devices needs costly and energy-intensive purification steps, Wang said. The direct production of pure formic acid solutions will […]
In Texas, a common greenhouse gas could be repurposed in an efficient and environmentally friendly way with an electrolyzer that uses renewable electricity to produce pure liquid fuels. The catalytic reactor developed by a Rice University lab uses carbon dioxide as its feedstock and, in its latest prototype, produces highly purified and high concentrations of […]
Although they will not know it, when the world finally moves off petroleum completely, we may have the ants to thank. Formica, as ants were known by the Romans (yes, formica, but not the flooring material) — when squashed, emit a characteristic odor and that’s formic acid. That we know so much about it is thanks to […]
In Germany, BASF reports that their formic acid is now being used successfully in the Nordic countries, Switzerland and Austria to remove slippery ice from roads, sidewalks and bikeways – not just at airports. Their formic acid salts are particularly suitable for removing thin coats of ice and can also be used as a preventive […]
