South Korea develops a new catalyst that recycles greenhouse gases into fuel, hydrogen, and industrial chemicals   

In South Korea, ScienceDaily has reported that the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has developed a cheap catalyst that recycles greenhouse gases into ingredients that can be used in fuel, hydrogen gas, and other chemicals. The research— in part supported by the Saudi-Aramco-KAIST CO2 Management Center and the National Research Foundation of Korea— improves upon a conversion process called ‘dry reforming’ which typically requires rare and expensive metals such as platinum to induce a brief and inefficient chemical reaction. The KAIST researchers, however, developed their catalyst from nickel, magnesium, and molybdenum— which are all significantly less expensive than platinum. The paper’s author, Cafer t. Yavuz,  stated the intention of the study clearly and succinctly: “We set out to develop an effective catalyst that can convert large amounts of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane without failure.” 

Category: R&D