[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6961\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n        \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n  \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EWaste CO2 to be turned into ingredients for fuel, plastics and even food\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s part of a strategy to halt global warming by cutting down the amount of CO2 we vent into the air and then re-using it - a technique known as carbon capture and utilisation (CCU).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt a facility run by Carbon Recycling International (CRI) beside the picturesque Blue Lagoon in southwest Iceland, water, energy and waste carbon dioxide from a nearby geothermal power station are being used to make methanol, which can be blended with petrol to power cars or turned into a range of chemicals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We take CO2 originally dissolved in the steam coming from underground and we re-use some of it as a raw material in our process,\u2019 said \u00d3mar Freyr Sigurbj\u00f6rnsson, former research director and now head of sales and marketing at CRI.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECRI built their demo plant in 2012 and became the world\u2019s first company to produce and sell methanol made from waste CO2. Since 2014, the plant can manufacture around 4,000 tonnes of methanol per year, which is sold in other European countries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis amount is a drop in the ocean for now, since around 80 million tonnes of methanol are made annually. Through a project called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/213328_en.html\u0022\u003ECircle Energy\u003C\/a\u003E, CRI is conducting a feasibility study on scaling up its operations. CRI aims to construct dozens of facilities in Europe that combine renewable energy with waste CO2 gas to make methanol, starting with a much larger facility in Norway, where it will use hydropower to make 100,000 tonnes of methanol each year. The plan is to start building soon and complete the facility by 2021.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESustainable\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECRI\u2019s process is far more sustainable than regular methanol production. In Europe and the US, most methanol is made using natural gas, whereas in China coal is used.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe CRI process kicks off by using the renewable energy to electrolyse water, which is a way of breaking H\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 10pt;\u0022\u003E2\u003C\/span\u003EO molecules into oxygen and hydrogen using electricity. The hydrogen is reacted with the waste CO2 with the aid of special chemicals called catalysts. This yields methanol, which is made up of four atoms of hydrogen, one of carbon and one of oxygen. The only waste gas is oxygen, which is emitted into the air or used in other ways.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn Norway, CRI will use renewable energy and waste CO2 gas from nearby industry to manufacture greener methanol, which will then go into paints, plastics, solvents, glue, fuel components, and more. This way of making methanol reduces carbon emissions by 90% compared to using fossil fuels.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are able to sell in the same fuel markets in Europe as other fossil fuel methanol, but we get a premium price,\u2019 said Sigurbj\u00f6rnsson.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMethanol can also be stored and transported from renewable energy production sites to where consumers are. \u2018We can convert renewable energy into chemical energy that can be stored for a long time, and it can be moved long distances without losing energy. It has these advantages over say battery technology,\u2019 said Sigurbj\u00f6rnsson.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022text-center text-blue font-bold text-2xl w-full lg:w-1\/2 border-2 border-blue p-12 my-8 lg:m-12 lg:-ml-16 float-left\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cspan class=\u0022text-5xl rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003Cp class=\u0022font-serif italic\u0022\u003E\u2018CO2 is a waste, so it really has to be a cheap process that leads to an interesting component.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n  \u003Cfooter\u003E\n    \u003Ccite class=\u0022not-italic font-normal text-sm text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Patricia Luis Alconero, UC Louvain, Belgium\u003C\/cite\u003E\n  \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECRI, which has worked out how to use residual gases from industries such as steel and iron making, also plans to put waste CO2 from power plants and cement factories to good use.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We plan to have more partners co-invest with us, such as power companies, chemical companies and different industries,\u2019 Sigurbj\u00f6rnsson said. \u2018Our focus is on developing the technology and licensing and selling the equipment that goes with it.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis can lower emissions but won\u2019t swallow all of industry\u2019s CO2.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EReport\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/report\/sr15\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Erecent landmark report\u003C\/a\u003E from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that the world needs to limit temperature rise to 1.5\u00b0C. This requires many solutions and multiple technologies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Since the industrial sector emits 40% of all carbon dioxide, we are trying to capture it from the chimney and do something useful with it,\u2019 said Professor Patricia Luis Alconero at UC Louvain in Belgium, who has just begun an ambitious project to turn waste CO2 into useful chemicals.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHer project, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/212331_en.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003ECO\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003ELife\u003C\/a\u003E, is inspired by nature. \u2018Our process looks at the way nature takes up CO2 for its own ends.\u0026nbsp;We try to copy nature\u0027s use of enzymes, but in a way that is more efficient and which uses membrane technology,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrent technology for capturing carbon uses liquid amines, expensive and toxic chemicals with great affinity for CO2 molecules, but the cost and sustainability of the process are of concern. In order to generate energy and to capture CO2 in a fossil fuel power plant, for instance, an additional 30% more energy needs to be generated.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMembranes\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo develop this membrane-based process, Prof. Luis Alconero is using amino acid salts and enzymes that will capture and convert CO2 molecules into useful chemicals. In a second step, also using membranes, the chemicals will be crystallised and recovered as pure materials for use by industry.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This process is flexible since depending on the enzymes we use, we can get different chemicals,\u2019 she said. Examples include carbonate salts, such as sodium or calcium carbonate, a raw material for the cement industry, or glucose.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther high-value possibilities are pure compounds that could be valuable to the food industry. It is the cost of turning CO2 into something useful and the value of that material that determines whether the process sinks or swims.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018CO2 is a waste, so it really has to be a cheap process that leads to an interesting component,\u2019 said Prof. Luis Alconero, who aims to build a prototype system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Our objective is to come up with a solution that is more environmentally friendly than amines and also to solve the economic issues,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022moreinfoblock\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Ch3\u003EThe Issue\u003C\/h3\u003E\n  \u003Cp\u003EIn June, the European Commission\u0027s Group of Chief Scientific Advisors\u0026nbsp;delivered an\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/research\/sam\/pdf\/sam_ccu_report.pdf#view=fit\u0026amp;pagemode=none\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eopinion\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;on \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/research\/sam\/index.cfm?pg=ccu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Enovel\u0026nbsp;carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) technologies\u003C\/a\u003E. This was conducted under the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/research\/sam\/index.cfm?pg=home\u0022\u003EScientific Advice Mechanism \u003C\/a\u003Ewhich supports the Commission with independent, timely scientific advice designed to guide future EU policies.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey assessed technologies\u0026nbsp;which include carbon capture, conversion and generating hydrogen and concluded that CCU can help the EU reach its mitigation targets. Implementing these technologies, many of which are still being developed, will depend on getting lawmakers and businesses on board, according to the opinion. In addition, if the fossil carbon stays in the ground, CCU can help \u2018close the carbon loop above the ground\u2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the EU. 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